Darkened Eclipse
by MyOrli
Summary: i have taken the challenge! read and tell me if it's worth it! cloud joins kadaj. but why? did he do it for the sake of those he loves, or because he's tired of fighting? M for slash pairings and MAYBE lemon! heehee! AU sorry i took so long, but i'm back
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hello, one and all! I have taken up crimson-soul-lifes-blood's challenge. This is also my first Final Fantasy fic, btw. For those of y'all who don't know, this is basically about Sephiroth and our hero, Cloud. This is an AU version of Advent Children. Long story short, "What if Cloud joined Kadaj?" Well, this is my guess. But I must warn y'all, that, by the Boss's requirements to write this fic, _**THIS IS STRICTLY YAOI**_! _**AS IN, MALE-ON-MALE**_! I warn you; if you _do not _like this shtuff, I highly recommend that you turn back, _**NOW**_. I don't wanna be responsible for an insulted, shocked, and/or offended reader. So, those of you who don't mind reading this shtuff, I hope you enjoy! And I hope y'all keep reading once you've started. Though, I must confess, this is my first ever slash fic, so I do hope I don't disappoint anyone that I take things slow with the mature shtuff. Any help along the way will be greatly appreciated. And…well, I find it rather difficult to write a, well, intercourse scene, so I pray y'all with bear with me. Again, any assistance will be appreciated and thanked! Well, on with the show!

Disclaimer: Sadly, I own naught but the AU-ness of the story.

Note: this starts off from the movie, but becomes altered, so don't get impatient, -k-? just read the whole thing out, -k-?

Out in the midst of nowhere of a plain, a spiky blonde sat upon a motorbike known as Fenrir. A black cell phone pressed against an ear decorated with a silver earring like a wolf's head. Impossibly blue eyes stared into blank space as the voice of an old friend placed into his hearing. "You got a call from Reno. He's in Healin. Says he's got work for you. Cloud…how have you been?" Tifa Lockhart's voice kindly asked.

The blonde waited for more, but only got the standard, computerized voice, "You have no more messages." Upon hearing that, he lowered and closed his phone. He turned to pocket it, lightly holding onto his left arm as if it were made of glass.

He then faced forward again and brought up a lowered pair of shaded goggles to his eyes, straightening them as he readied to start up his Fenrir. But as soon as his hands made contact, a sudden surge of pain swept through his left arm, which was blanketed by a black sleeve, unlike his right. Grasping it in reaction, he flexed his fist a couple of times to try and shake off the pain. As soon as the throbbing was tolerable, he revved up his bike and sped away.

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A lone Buster sword stuck in the ground of a cliff over looking Midgar. Beside it stood a brown-and-silver wolf, staring onto Midgar from the spot of his memorial.

If only he was still alive and in his human body. To be allowed such a freedom besides within the Lifestream itself. But…Fate chose that this place was where he would die—only a few years ago—protecting his best and now-only friend. Yet, the death in itself was very cruel and _very_ uncalled-for. For Gaia's sake! Shooting an unarmed and totally exhausted man to death! And while he was trying to ensure the life of his younger friend, no less. Damned Turks!

How can anyone blame them for escaping the damn laboratory? Five years of endless suffering, really! Of _course_ he would try to get them outta there! No one could stand that for long.

…But, he could watch over his still-living friend. Make sure he's alright, and all. And only he knew it. Though he never could guess why the survivor wore his friend's symbol. Out of respect? Mourn? Grief? Remembrance? Honor of him? The wolf decided it could be all of those. His friend was always a complicated guy.

Nonetheless, he knew that he was all but forgotten. Just like the Ancient who was slaughtered by the ex-General Sephiroth himself. One who was once the wolf's friend. Now, he was no friend of his. Now, his living friend had spent two years in grief, unable to forgive himself of the shear fact that he couldn't save those who were close to him. For that, the wolf in his always-gentle heart felt for him. Like he always had. Like he always will.

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The memorial of a resting SOLDIER was disturbed when three identical motorbikes pulled up and stopped before the upright Buster sword. But the sword was viciously kicked aside and clattered to the ground at the foot of one of three clones to the most powerful being on the Planet. The desecration angered the spirit the invisible wolf held. _How dare he_? _When his living comrade and heartily practically held the token holy in honor of his own spirit_?

The silence was broken when one with the longest silver hair spoke to whom that sat on the middle bike, "Hey, Kadaj. Is that…where Big Brother lives?"

The one with chin-length hair nodded once as his eyes brightened with excitement. "Yeah."

"Do you think he'll be glad to see us?"

"Not a chance," the other answered with a slight chuckle.

"Don't cry, Yazoo." The last remaining one said.

The first merely continued, "But Mother's with him?"

The middle clone shifted slightly on his seat, "Maybe not."

"Don't cry, Loz," the one called Yazoo mocked a soothing tone to the last.

After a pause, the one named Kadaj listened as the sound of a moving Fenrir caught his hearing. He looked and nodded in the direction of the sound below the cliff. "Hold on. He's coming." The others looked to the small, moving thing and then exchanged glances. With a nod from their supposed leader, they took off in pursuit, while the last stayed behind and instead dialed a number in his cell phone.

Almost immediately, a stern, deep voice picked up, "What do you want?" the voice seemed to have known exactly who it was.

Kadaj smirked as he just said. "I've got a friend of yours at my two brothers' mercy. Now, unless you answer to my satisfaction, I'll most likely use my own ways to get the information I need. And I know he knows."

"I don't have any idea what you're talking about." The other said.

"I want to know where you've gone and hidden Mother." Kadaj still calmly said as he paced around.

"If you're talking about that Bitch's head, it's nowhere near me or you."

"Really?" Kadaj asked as if not convinced. "Something tells me you wouldn't leave something so precious as Mother just anywhere."

"I never said that," the voice growled. "Truthfully, I don't know _where _it is. Only the Boss does. But wherever it is, it ain't here."

"Don't tell me. You're leading me on."

"What makes you think that?"

"Because I think you _do have_ Mother there."

"You don't know jack shit, so lay off what you only _think_ you know!" the voice bellowed.

Kadaj only chuckled as he responded and sat on his bike, "No need to shout." The other was about to respond when he said, "I don't wanna talk to you anymore. Put the President on." instead, all he heard was a _click _and the line went dead. Kadaj smirked. Their loss—not to mention their stupidity.

Standing on the edge of the cliff, he watched with amusement as his Big Brother fought to stay in one piece and get away. Though, Kadaj doubted he would, considering he'd lost his sword when he tried to block an attack from Loz. He never had time to retrieve it for Yazoo charged his way, and in mid somersault, shot his shades off of his Brothers face. But the bullet also grazed his face, splattering some blood.

It was then that more of the strange shadow-like creatures emerged and surrounded the fleeing ex-SOLDIER. Victory certainly was Kadaj's today. Big Brother was defenseless, and his Geostigma was getting to him.

The creatures had closed in on him, fending off any and all means of escape. Kadaj and his other two brothers watched as all the blonde could do was to protectively grasp his sick arm, in attempt to keep it from all contact.

The creature closest to his face lunged at him, knocking him off his bike and onto the ground. The Fenrir shot into a rock, shattering the front and causing the remainder of his swords to fly in every which direction. The blonde lay flat on the ground—facedown—and covered his face with his good arm while the deadly blades decided to try and harm their own owner. The remaining creatures attacked before he had a chance to regain his feet.

The dozen-or-so attackers clawed, tore, and snapped their jaws at the ex-SOLDIER. Though he was pinned, a fallen sword lay within his reach. In a flash, he reached for it and with a single swing, dispersed half of the shadowy things. But more seemed to come within the second. Within minutes, the blonde was weakened and worn to a frazzle.

In his last bits of consciousness, he could make out a male figure garbed in fine leather with short silver hair kneel beside his sprawled self. "Welcome, Brother." He had no clue what that meant, considering he had no siblings. But be that as it may, he did not like his current situation.

Pulling back his right glove, he tapped a button on a small device very similar to a watch twice before the last of his vision faded and he saw no more.

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Silence. Pure silence. And bliss. The only sound being the rustle of the leaves in the tree and his own heartbeat. The only things he could see for miles were a vast grass plain and the never-ending sky. Everything was perfect. No worries, nothing to bother him, and all the time in the world to think.

"Vincent!" aw, no! The biggest annoyance to ever hit the face of the Planet…_Yuffie_. Vincent sighed and looked away from the plain at which he stared. It was such a beautiful one; Vincent always found comfort and relaxation within its beauty. "Vincent!" Yuffie ran up and stopped beneath the branch of a tall tree that Vincent miraculously sat evenly balanced upon.

"What is it, Yuffie?" Vincent asked. "It seems urgent, whatever it is."

Yuffie nodded with her hands on her knees. "Vince, Cid just got a message. From Tifa. There's been trouble near Midgar."

Vincent huffed a little in acknowledgement, "Hmm. What kind of trouble?"

"Clones of Seph…you know, silver-haired guys with green, cat eyes and--"

"I get the picture."

"Well, anyways. They ambushed one of our guys and it turns out he was overmatched by those assholes. He called in an A.I.J. just before he supposedly lost consciousness. Tifa was the nearest AVALANCHE member to him, so she called it in to Cid when she got it. We think he might be in real trouble. I think you better head to Midgar straight away!" Yuffie started off to race back to the Shera, but turned back when she noticed that Vincent had barely hopped off the branch, picking up Cerberus from against the trunck and holstering it. "Hurry up, Vince! We haven't got all day!"

"Who was it that called the AIJ? Who should I be looking for?"

Yuffie's eyed widened a bit in what Vincent assumed to be pity and wondering it she should tell him. "Vince, he was on his way to Midgar when he…Vince, it was Cloud!" with that, Yuffie ran off to the parked Shera.

Vincent was left in utter horror and shock. Yuffie had obviously cleared out in fear that Vincent would go berserk…and he wasn't so sure he wouldn't; the one Vincent really cared about most was in jeopardy.

A/N: Okay, I hope I didn't screw that first chapt up. At least not too bad. Tell me what you think and I'll send the next chapter as soon as I can, -k-? And don't worry; next chapt Cloud's gonna become one twisted-and-evil SOB, lol! til next time! ;)


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Sorry, y'all, for the wait. But…WOW! I never expected to get reviews almost right away! OO Thanx to my four reviewers, crimson-soul-lifes-blood, silva moonlight, Arcaenia and Metadeta. Anyone who's been reading, but haven't reviewed, pleez do so! I'd love you forever and ever! Um…ahem.

To silva moonlight: Oh, don't worry; Kadaj and the gang are gonna do _plenty_ of torture to poor Cloud!

To Arcaenia: Yep. Cloud's gonna be a bad little boy! Stay tuned!

To crimson-soul-lifes-blood: gee. Thanx for the compliment, Boss. #blushes# Glad you like it. Hope you keep reading. And yeah, thanx for offering to help, should I need it!

To Metadeta: Glad you like it, too. And don't worry; the Yaoiness will be revealed all in good time…unless you wanna know right away, of course. If that's indeed the case, then I'll post it on the next chapt, -k-? ;) though, I can say that there will be a _little_ bit of Yuffentine. Eventually, lol.

Disclaimer: I ain't saying it again! Um…#cough, cough# Kadaj?

Kadaj: MyOrli does not own any of us. #under his breath# Thank Gaia.

Hey! No one insults me and gets away with it!

Reno: Kadaj?

Kadaj: …Yeah?

Reno: Run.

Kadaj: Good idea. #takes off. MyOrli chases with a baseball bat.#

Vincent: Ahem. Can we get on with the story, please.

Cloud: Couldn't agree more. I don't really like the idea of being unconscious while Kadaj is around.

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"_Cloud. Wake up, Cloud. Cloud." Cloud opened his eyes to a bright morning sun, a clear blue sky, and deep red eyes. "Have you been here all night?"_

_Cloud looked up from where his head rested on his hands. "It _is _my favorite place, Vincent."_

"_Perhaps, but why wasn't I invited?"_

_Cloud shrugged, "I guess I didn't think you'd wanna waste your time just gazing out at a beautiful meadow."_

_Vincent hummed a laugh and sat down beside the blonde, resting his arm on a raised knee. "Peaceful meadows are a nice place to think and find peace. How else do you suppose I keep my sanity?"_

_Cloud sat up and leaned on his elbows. "Hmm. Guess I didn't think of that." after a moment of silence from the two under the oak tree, Cloud spoke up again. "So. Any particular reason why you came to see me?"_

_Vincent looked at him and gave a half-smirk. "Let's just say that Yuffie isn't good at not being annoying."_

_Cloud gave one of his rare smiles. "I think she likes you."_

_Vincent turned back to the grassy plain. "Hmm. No wonder she doesn't go bother someone else every so often."_

"_You seem to be taking the news really well."_

"_Should I not? Even if the feelings _were_ mutual?" _

_Cloud shrugged and followed Vincent's gaze back to the meadow, "Okay. Point taken." After another pause, Vincent stood. Cloud looked up with questioning eyes. "Leaving already?"_

"_I have to go find you."_

"_Find me? But I'm right here!"_

_Vincent shook his head, "No. _I _was here. You called for help near Midgar. Yuffie said we need to find you."_

"_Vincent!" Cloud stood and faced him completely. "I'm right here! Nothing's happened to me!"_

_Vincent ignored him and seemed to stare right through him. "You were shot down by three remnants. I have to find you before it's too late."_

_Cloud frantically waved a hand before Vincent's face. "Vincent! It's me! Cloud! I'm not in Midgar!"_

_Vincent looked him in the eye again with seemingly hatred in his red eyes. "You're _not_ Cloud. You're a traitor." _

"_No, I'm--"_

"_Your eyes. Cloud's are blue. You have Sephiroth's."_

"_I…Sephiroth's?" Cloud dropped down by a pond close to where he sat a few seconds previously. He saw his reflection. He had the spiky blond hair. He had the smooth, pale complexion. He had--wait. He…_didn't_ have the deep, sapphire blue eyes. They were…poisonous green. With cat's pupils. Furious mako glow. _Sephiroth's_ eyes! No! It couldn't be! Im-impossible! _

_Cloud stood, "Vin--"_

_Ka-BLAM! _

_Cloud turned and met two shocked—and somewhat betrayed—red orbs. A growing splotch of red shone on the right-hand side of Vincent's chest. Blood seeped between the fingers of Vincent's claw as he clutched it—though it didn't look like it was in pain. _

"_Vincent!"_

_The ex-Turk merely stared with hurt, crimson eyes. Though it didn't seem like he was talking to him, "Cloud…why? How could you--" _

_Ka-BLAM! _

_Another rose bud bloomed—this time at Vincent's left side. Vincent stumbled a little, but remained standing. "--Betray us?"_

_Ka-BLAM!_

_Vincent fell to his knees, his claw still grasping his first wound. Deceived red eyes met Cloud's new ones as the blonde watched helplessly. "We cared for you, Cloud. All of--"_

_Ka-BLAM! _

_Vincent caught himself from hitting the bloodstained grass by throwing out his normal arm. Cloud wanted to help him…but he couldn't move. What the fuck was wrong with him?!?!_

"_But I, Cloud…I…"_

_BLAM!_

_The gunman fell onto his side, one too many slugs in him. "I wanted…to tell you--" Vincent paused as he coughed up a little blood. _

"_Say it, Vincent," Cloud whispered, tears involuntarily filling his cat-like eyes. "Just say it."_

"_I lo--"_

_BOOM! A final shot finished the ex-Turk off and the beautiful, unique crimson eyes went blank. _

"_N-no! Vincent! Don't die!" Cloud cried as he finally was able to move and dropped down by his side. "Please, don't!"_

"_Now you _don't_ want him to be killed?" Cloud looked up to meet shining—yet somehow disappointed—violet eyes. _

"_Zack?"_

_Zack shook his head. "What's happened to you since I died, kid? You're I.Q. level drop?"_

"_But…I don't--what is happening to me, Zack?" was all the blonde could manage. "Why--?" _

"_Why is Vincent dead?" Zack asked with bitterness in his tone. "Look at yourself, Cloud. Look at what you've done."_

_As if on autopilot, Cloud looked at his right hand. In it lay Ceberus, its triple barrel smoking. Cloud's eyes grew and he let a small gasp escape his lips. He looked back up at Zack whose stone expression was unchanged, "I didn't..?"_

"_You did. Or rather 'you will'. All of them. All of your friends. Dying at your hands."_

_Cloud looked down at the ground, violently shaking his head, "No! I wouldn't! I won't! You know I won't!"_

_Zack turned away, "I'm sorry, friend. I can't help you anymore. Not when you've gone this far." With that said, Zack disappeared. _

_Cloud was distraught. "No! Zack, wait! Don't leave me here! NOOO!" _

Cloud opened his eyes in mid-scream. It felt like an eternity before he stopped. But once his senses adjusted, he felt like screaming again and this time never stopping. Something about his dream made sense in the current picture he was in. He wasn't in his meadow at all. And his hands weren't supporting his head; they were bound by the wrists by criss-crossing shackles bolted down above his head on whatever he was lying on—a table? A med table?

Wait…this was the Nibelheim lab! A good look around the dark room confirmed that. It was deserted and long abandoned, sure, but still intact. And still usable.

Who brought him here? And what did they want with him?

Half in panic due to past experiences, he tried to break the binding shackles, but somehow, they refused to snap. When he tried to shift to get a better look at them, pressure on his ankles told him that they too were bound down.

"Damn." Cloud hissed to himself. This was the five-year-experimentation-in-hell all over again. Except Zack wasn't here with him.

…Zack.

"Where are you when I need you most?" he automatically muttered.

"Good evening, Brother." A chirpy voice piped up after a moment. Cloud glared over to the direction from which the voice came. A man with chin-length silver hair strode into the lab from a door almost right across from the blonde.

"Who are you?"

The stranger ignored him and continued to approach his side. "I thought you'd never wake up."

"I think he thought that, too, Kadaj," another voice said from a dark corner. "He was tossing and turning the whole time he'd been there."

The first one looked at Cloud with raised eyebrows. "Bad dream, then, Brother?"

Cloud intensified his glare, "What the hell are you talking about? I don't have any brothers."

"You are a SOLDIER, are you not?" the one who spoke from the dark corner stepped out to reveal he wasn't very different from the first. But his hair was longer.

"I _was_. But what the fuck does that have to do with anything?"

"You served under General Sephiroth, did you not?"

"Yes, but--"

"Were best friends with his right-hand man, yes?"

Cloud was getting agitated, "His name is Za--!"

"Were exposed to mako, correct?"

"I was held here for fi--!"

"You carry Mother's cells, am I right?"

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU GETTING AT?!" the blonde couldn't help yelling.

"The point is, _Brother_," the one called Kadaj place his hands on either side of Cloud's head and leaned over him, "You are bonded to us by the shear fact that you were an attempted clone of Sephiroth. Even though you were 'The Failure', you still are a powerful ex-SOLDIER. You…" he gave a sly smile. "are just like us."

"I'm _nothing_ like you." Cloud angrily spat. "First off, I don't go kidnapping a delivery boy just to feed him a load of bullshit."

Kadaj raised his eyebrows, "A delivery boy, is it? Is that the pathetic job you've been working for two years? When you could be doing something greater?"

"Is that a proposition?" Cloud sarcastically retorted. "Cuz I'm not fighting anymore."

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"Vince, look!" Yuffie tugged at the ex-Turk's arm and pointed to a spot on the dead ground from the Shera.

"I see it," Vincent confirmed. Turning to Cid, he said, "Cid, land a few yards away. I'm going to check it out."

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"Whoa!" the ninja exclaimed upon reaching a large pile of rubble. "What the hell is _that_, Vince?" 

Vincent only intensified a very grave look. He placed his gloved hand on what appeared to be a hood of a motorbike. It was still hot. "Fenrir."

Yuffie gave him a surprised and questioning look, "Cloud's bike?" Vincent gave a solemn nod. "Wow. _Someone_ sure knew how to take him down."

The ex-Turk's eyes blazed, but he kept his voice calm. "Go back to the Shera, Yuffie."

"But I--"

"Now." Without any further protest, Yuffie ran back to Cid's ship.

Vincent—now alone—shut his eyes. He was too late. But he would still keep looking. Even if it killed him. He was determined not to let the blonde down.

A/N: Sorry; hafta cut it off here. I know I promised I'd make Cloud a bad boy in this chapt, but I have currently caught a deadly disease. It's a bad case of WRITERZ BLOCK! #A-choo!# I promise the next chapt will be more interesting! (lotsa Cloud torture, heehee!) I ain't gonna let this fic die, don't worry! So n e wayz, send a review and maybe I'll recover from my illness sooner. But if you can't do that, just send flowers. Pink and yellow roses are my fav!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Voila! MyOrli has returned! Yippee! Miss me? Didn't think so! Lol. Thanx again, my wonderful reviewers! ;) lots o' luv to y'all and cookies to my second-time reviewers! Kisses!

To Nickole Riddle: Glad you think it's interesting! Here's more for ya!

To Arcaenia: Thank you! The flowers were so lovely! #sniffle# the complimentary tissue was well appreciated, too, lol. Glad you like the last chapt and yes, my writerz block is now gone! #a-choo!# well, for the most part, lol. Looks like I had a bit of a relapse upon writing the end of this, though. But stay tuned! ;D

To Lady-Jana-Sparrow: Glad you read and didn't regret it! ;D and about the Cloud torture…I'm taking you're suggestion into serious thought and soon into my story, along with other ideas of mine! Thanx for the tip:D

To crimson-soul-lifes-blood: Thanx a million, Boss! You make me feel so luved! (;

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"We can be civil to you, Brother," Yazoo softly warned to Cloud who did nothing but glare. "But only if you choose to cooperate with us."

"We offer a…_truce_," Cloud looked back up to Kadaj who added, "If you promise to hear us out. Promise us, and we'll let you out of those shackles. Deal?"

Cloud turned away; a truce with these fuckers? No way in--

His gaze caught the open door that led out of the lab. A clear, unguarded exit! If he could just get up and haul ass outta there…

"Alright," the blonde answered in a low and slow voice. "Fine. I promise."

"Hmm." Kadaj exchanged satisfied glances with Yazoo just before he unlocked the shackles on the table that held Cloud down.

Poker-facing, Cloud slowly and casually sat up on the edge of the table. Kadaj smirked at how obedient the ex–SOLDIER was being. Cloud gave a civil smile, but dropped it just before he delivered a spin-kick to the remnant's jaw, knocking him to the ground. Yazoo pulled out his gun, but the blonde grabbed his arm, broke it, and shoved him to the ground before taking off through the dark doorway.

Cloud raced as fast as he could through the many corridors, trying to remember the way out. He tried not to think of what they might do to him if he got caught. And the fact that a strange fatigue was wearing him down by the second didn't comfort him in the least.

He rounded a corner and was greeted with rays of fading sunlight. He was almost out! The door was right--!

"Mmf!" his sleeved arm was suddenly twisted up against his back with such painful speed, force and iron grip that he almost screamed—but not before a gloved hand was clamped tightly over his mouth.

He saw silver stream into his side vision as he heard a hissing voice, "That wasn't very smart, Brother. And you'll soon learn that we have a short patience span. So we're going to try to do this the easy way: I'm going to take my hand away from your mouth and you're going to promise me you aren't going to run or scream. Do you understand?" Cloud remained motionless. The grip tightened; so hard that Cloud began to think his jaw might break. "_Do you understand_?!" Cloud let out a soft whimper in pain. He weakly nodded.

Satisfied, Yazoo slowly took his hand away and clasped Cloud's free arm with it. But this was just what Cloud needed; even if he was cut off… "VINCEH--!" quicker than sight, Yazoo's hand shot back up and gripped him harder than ever.

"We should stop trusting you, Brother. Were you always this naughty to your own mother?"

Cloud jerked at the vain mention of his single parent. She was only dead relative he respected.

He heard Yazoo chuckle from behind him, making him even more angry. Raising his leg, he swiftly kicked Yazoo square in the groin—no doubt making him stop laughing.

Jerking away, Cloud took off to the front door, only to be cut off by--

"Ha!" Cloud skidded to a halt when a bigger man with short silver jumped out in front of him. Loz. "Wrong way, Brother!" he chided.

Biting back a gasp, the blonde took a sharp U-turn, this time heading towards the staircase that led to the second floor. Chuckling confidently to himself, Loz took off after him, knowing that Yazoo had a little surprise for the blonde at the end of the hallway.

Mako-enhanced eyes aiding him in the darkness, Cloud raced through the nearest hallway. If he could find a room faraway enough to buy him time to open and jump out a window, he had a chance.

"Heheh," Yazoo stood at the end of the corridor, holding his gun erect. How the hell did his arm--

BLAMBLAM! Bullets fired straight at him without hesitation. Warning bell screaming in his head, Cloud ducked to the left behind a stone statue.

THK! A last bullet nestled in his right ankle before he could find full cover. Muffling a cry, he fell against the wall and statue. The shots ceased and he heard approaching footsteps.

"There is nothing to be gained by running from us, Brother. You'll just keep running into us, one way or another." Leaning against the pedestal on which the figurine stood, Cloud felt an orb-shaped pressure digging into his leg. Fumbling around in his pocket, he found a forgotten materia orb he kept handy in case of an emergency. Too bad it wasn't a Cure materia for his shot foot, but if was a Fire one. It would give him the chance to cast Fire 2—long enough to hold Yazoo at bay—and get the hell outta there. "If we _really _intended to hurt you, don't you think we would have already done it? But we might as well, if you _do not cooperate with us_."

Having heard enough of this bullshit, Cloud gathered up all of his strength—ignoring the pain in his ankle as well as he could—and stood up, materia in hand. Yazoo was barely over a yard from him. Perfect. Focusing his attention on the door across from him, Cloud quickly cast the required spell—blocking the clone's path from him—and with a shout, burst through the door. There was a window right across from him beside a bed with torn curtains. The only thing in his way was--

"Loz! He's wounded! Just keep him away from the exit!" Yazoo's voice called from the hall.

Realizing they couldn't stop him once he got out, Cloud bolted to the sheet of glass. Just as he was inches from it, "Hah!"

"Hurgh!" shocking pain--literal shocking pain coursed through his chest. And before he knew it, he was flying away from his attacker…into a solid wall.

Gasping in pain, Cloud tried to get up and run again, but the electric shock he'd received left him in utter agony. And the bullet in his ankle didn't help either. But approaching heavy footsteps sent new adrenaline to the blonde's brain.

With that in mind, Cloud tried to push his body to move, but the only response he received was another jolt of pain to his chest and stomach. With a short groan of pain, he slightly curled and clutched his stomach in reaction.

He shut his eyes, wishing desperately for this to be another bad dream. But in dreams, one didn't feel such intense agony and terror. At least, not this bad.

Looking up, he saw his two pursuers. Yazoo grinned and knelt beside him, "Didn't I tell you, Brother? You just can't beat us."

Cloud didn't get a chance to respond for the next thing he felt was a sharp pain in his neck—almost like a needle. And then--

_Vincent…_

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Vincent sighed heavily and turned to head back to the Shera. Well, he had no leads to where he might find his comrade, but nothing was stopping him from looking.

"Hey, Vincent," Vincent spun around, Ceberus in hand. Who said that? "Whoa, relax! Put the damn gun away, will ya? I haven't threatened you or anything."

Vincent turned sharply to his left--who the hell was saying that? And where was the voice coming from? "I'll be the judge of that."

"Ha! You can't even see me! Who are you to be judgmental?"

Vincent turned to his right, now. "Why don't you let me see you, then? If you're no threat, then why are you hiding?"

"Look a little harder, Vinnie. I'm by the large boulder a few feet in front of you."

The ex-Turk followed the instructions and looked straight ahead, where Fenrir had crashed. No man was standing there, "Really?" Vincent asked skeptically. "I don't see any--"

"Over here," a little ways to the right, a brown and silver wolf faded into view as it trotted forward a little and then came to a stop. Violet eyes of the mammal met Vincent's red ones with a little sadness. Even more to the gunman's surprise, the wolf's mouth moved and words from the voice previously heard came out, "See me now?"

Vincent dropped his arm that was holding his gun as if he was staring at some idiot, "You're a wolf."

The wolf barred his teeth, but it looked more like he was trying to smile, "You're very observant, Bright-Eyes."

"Who are you?"

The wolf looked at the ground for a second, pawing the ground, and then back at the ex-Turk, "First-Class SOLDIER Colonel Fair, Second-In-Command to the General. But you can just call me Zack." 

"…Zack? Cloud's--"

"Best friend. That's me." The wolf hung his head a little. "Sorry I'm frequently out of uniform due to this fur coat."

"You…no. You tell me the truth. Who are you _really_?"

The wolf who claimed himself as being Zack hopped up onto the shattered hood of Fenrir, "I'm just who I said I am."

"One, Zackary Fair died seven years ago. Two, he was _human_."

The wolf snickered a little as if the man before him had no clue what he was talking about, "You said it yourself, Vinnie. I died. But when the Planet sensed things were getting increasingly worse and a certain group of three was gonna make it worse, I was sent from the Lifestream back here, in this form and with the ability to become invisible to human eyes. At first, I thought it was just to I could keep an eye on things, but now I know it was for a damn good reason."

"Really?" Vincent asked as if not convinced and holstered Ceberus. "And for what reason?"

Violet eyes harden a little and the wolf said, "Lemmie just say this: Cloud is in trouble."

"That I can see from what I've seen of Fenrir. But what do you know that I obviously don't?"

"They've taken him."

Without missing a beat, the ex-Turk questioned, "Who? Where? When?"

Zack hopped off what remained of Cloud's bike and nodded to over Vincent's shoulder. "The wanna-be Planet-destroyer, Kadaj and his gang. They jumped him when he was passing by here. As you can see, it wasn't pretty."

"What do they want with him?"

Zack looked back into red eyes with seriousness in his own purple ones, "They want _him_ in particular. They know that he and Seph once had a…well…_thing_ between each other. Back when we all still worked for ShinRa. And I think they might try to use that to…well, I guess, _brainwash and convert _him under their influence."

"In other words..?"

"In other words…" Zack swallowed hard. "They might try and make a copy of Sephiroth inside of him."

Vincent's eyes widened; he probably didn't want to know how…

A/N: Yippee! I just couldn't resist bringing Zack into the story! Hope ya'll didn't mind.

Zack: Yeah. 'Bout time you see my pretty face more often

Don't press your luck, Zack.

Zack: …#throws mock salute# SIR, YES _MA'AM_!

Excuse _me_?

Zack: Um…woops! My phone's ringing. #pretends to look at it# Oh, look! It's Baxter!

Yuffie: I want chicken. I want liver. Meow-Mix, Meow-Mix. Please deliver.

Reno: Meow. Meow! #reeeaaally high-pitched# MEOW!

Seph: Oh, enough, already!

Tifa: You're probably getting annoyed by this pointless dialogue, so just go ahead and drop a little review and then you can be on your way.

Yuffie: Toodles!

Cid: Smoke, if ya got 'em!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Yay! I can finally update! #fireworks!# sorry to keep ya'll waiting for so friggin' long, but no internet at home means no updates. Sorry. But, n e ways, hope you lovely readers and fans like this chapt as well as you did the others! …The story's _really_ takin' off, now.

Disclaimer: Oh, come on! Do I have the characteristics of a genius?

_Tifa listened as Marlene hummed a little tune to herself while fingering Aeris' beloved flowers. Tifa had brought her to wait for Cloud, but knew that he wouldn't be coming anytime soon. She'd sent AVALANCHE out to look for him when he'd called in their team's unique distress call: an A.I.J. Short for AVALANCHE In Jeopardy. (Red XII insisted that it be A.M.I.J for "AVALANCHE _Member _In Jeopardy", but Barret said AMIJ didn't "sound cool enough".) Tifa, of course, didn't mention the call to Marlene when she requested to go see the ex-SOLDIER; she knew it would cause her and Denzel to go into a mild-to-major panic._

_Tifa only hoped that she would get news from Yuffie or Cid or _SOMEBODY _soon! There's only so much worry one person can take. In fact, she wasn't sure how much longer she could stand by and wait before she-- _

_The echoing sound of the church door opening made the bartender turn around. Before she had a chance to herself, Marlene jumped up and ran straight towards the long-awaited—and goggle-wearing, oddly—Cloud Strife._

_Wait. Cloud's…okay? Wasn't he in trouble? Hurt? _Something_?! AIJs were only used in cases of emergencies and Yuffie was more likely to prank-call one than Cloud._

_But Tifa was pulled from her puzzled thoughts when Marlene rushed up to hug the blonde and he didn't return the embrace. But the need for questioning about Cloud's strangely perfect state and condition overpowered her curiosity of the way he was acting. _

"_Cloud! I…you're alright! What happened? I thought you were in trouble? You called for help. Is everything okay?"_

_Marlene looked questioningly at the blonde mercenary, "You were in trouble? Are you okay?"_

_Cloud, not taking is eyes of the little girl, vacantly replied, "I'm alright, Marlene. You don't have to worry. I just had a crash is all."_

_Tifa shifted her weight and laid a hand on her hip, "Since when do you call in a call for immediate help when you've wrecked your bike? Especially when you obviously have no injuries? I mean, what the hell is going on, here?"_

"_But I got it fixed up now," Cloud continued as if he never heard his friend, kneeling in front of the little girl, "You wanna go for a ride with me on Fe--on my_ new _Fenrir?"_

Okay, why the hell is he ignoring me?_ Tifa angrily thought to herself_.I have no clue what his problem is, but he better--wait. What's he mean "new Fenrir"? And a _ride_ after he claims to have been in a wreck? Something just doesn't sound right… _"Cloud, what are you talking about? What are you talking about a _newFenrir _You're 'old' Fenrir's practically your best friend."_

"_Yeah…" Marlene agreed, looking back up into the shaded goggles on Cloud's face. "What do you mean?"_

"_You'll see, Marlene," Cloud assured with an all-too-calm-and-friendly voice that Tifa found something fishy about. "It'll give you a ride better than ever, now. So, you wanna come?"_

_Tifa couldn't take it anymore. With a stamp of her foot, she almost yelled, "Cloud_, why are you ignoring _me?!" _

_The blonde froze for a second before slowly standing back up and faced her, as if noticing her for the first time. Something about the way he addressed her made the bartender feel a little uneasy. And was it a trick of the light, or was he_…glaring _at her through his goggles? "Tifa," he said with something that sounded a lot like hate laced in his voice. "What are you doing here?"_

"_Um…" the brunette began as she pulled Marlene to stand behind her, suddenly feeling more threatened and vulnerable rather than annoyed and confused. "Marlene w-wanted to see you, so I brought her here to wait…so she didn't get worried."_

_A small smile etched into Cloud's lips, though Tifa could have sworn it to have been a…a_ smirk. _"Well, I'm here, now. I'm alright, and I'm going to take Marlene_ for little a ride. _Now, if you'll excuse us…" swiftly, he grabbed Marlene's hand and quickly made his way to the still-open door. _

_Tifa stood wide-eyed for a moment before regaining her composure and catching up with her 'friend' again, blocking his path while doing so. Suspicion rising ever more by the millisecond, she accusingly shot, "You know, Cloud, Yuffie tells me that children all over the place have been disappearing. Particularly among them, those with Geostigma. Now, with you calling in an AIJ before trying to take of with Marlene in hurry in sync with all this…" she grabbed the one of Cloud's hand that held Marlene's as her voice deepened, "…I find that strange…don't you?"_

_Cloud, having cast his gaze downwards until Tifa's most recent confrontation, looked up at Tifa for the second time since arriving. In a dark voice the girls almost couldn't recognize on him, he warned menacingly, "Don't make me kill you, Tif."_

_Tifa took a step backwards in both disbelief and fright, "W-what…did you say?" she gasped._

_Slowly, Cloud—or whatever monster that _looked_ like him—advanced on the bartender, causing to retreat in a backwards step, "If you value your life, you'll stay out of my way."_

_Tifa couldn't help but gape at this. This wasn't like Cloud at all. "You…" she began in a horrified whisper, "You're not the Cloud I know. That's not my friend saying those words!"_

"_Cloud, what's wrong?" Marlene nearly wailed in fear, tugging at the blonde's hand that still tightly grasped her own. _

"_We gotta get outta here, Marlene!" the bartender cried, yanking the little girl's hand from Cloud's clutch, turning and running for the door. _

_But they didn't get far before the vice-like grip of Cloud's hand took hold of Tifa's arm. He managed to half turn her around before hissing in her ear with a rising inflection—a warning, "Tifa--"_

"_Let go of me!" the martial artist brought her right leg up and swung with all the force she was capable of, delivering a swift Waterkick to Cloud's face. He stumbled backwards a few steps._

"_Tifa!" Marlene screamed, disbelieving at what said woman had done. _

_Tifa seemed shocked, too, eyes wide and hand over her mouth. "Oh, God, Cloud. Are you alright?" she asked while making her way over to help her friend up, but when he looked up at her, a loud gasp escaped her throat at the sight before her and she stepped back again. "Oh my God…"_

_Cloud's goggles had been knocked off. He now stood opposite her, incomparable fury filling his eyes. Only…they weren't exactly_ his. _Tifa and Marlene saw with great horror that in place of Cloud's soft ocean-blue orbs, there were glowing, almost acid-green ones with pupils like that of a cat's. Sephiroth's eyes. _

_In a intimidating voice, now, the blonde growled, "I warned you, Lockhart." While saying these terrifying words, Cloud pulled an impossibly long, silver sword from his back—as if materializing it out of thin air. Tifa recognized it immediately. The Masamune. _

"_Tifa…" Marlene whimpered behind her._

"_Marlene, run!" Tifa screamed just before Cloud leapt in her direction. _

00

00

"For the _last time_, I'm telling you that if we don't get to Cloud soon, we won't be able to help him!" Zack exclaimed in a frustrated tone to the AVALANCHE members gathered in the briefing room of the _Shera_.

"Lissen, puppy," Barret snapped to the wolf. "I still don' get how you're sayin' those _kids_ can use Strife's past to make 'im--"

"Look!" Zack (ahem) barked back. "All I know is what I'm saying! Cloud is apart of Sephiroth! Kadaj and his guys are wanting to use that to influence him against us!"

"--What d'you mean 'us'?" Cid retorted, but Zack didn't stop.

"Cloud is just as capable to destroy the Planet as Seph! That side of him has just been buried and hidden. But they're trying to bring it to the surface!"

"And just how do _you_ know all this?" Yuffie demanded.

This made Zack pause. Vincent looked down at him from his side and their eyes met. The ex-Turk caught the unspoken message hidden in Zack's violet eyes all too well. "I think that's enough questioning him. We're not making this any simpler by--"

"Nah, Vince, I wanna hear what _Bark_-The-Orders wolf has to say 'bout _that_," Cid cut in after smashing a cigarette into his palm and lighting another.

"Cid, if you had any common decency, you would care more abou--"

"Because I am, too." Zack's voice cut the gunman off, his answer causing several pairs of eyes to widely stare at him. The wolf pawed the metal floor, keeping his gaze there as well as if ashamed. "I _wasn't_ killed that day when Sephiroth destroyed Nibelheim. Not until five years later. Hojo made sure of it. He kept me alive and did the same thing to me as Cloud. I'm just like him…I can just control it better than he can…"

"You mean to say tha' the Lifestream sent a walking _time bomb_ to help us?!" Barret shouted in disbelief. "Jus' what use izzat s'posed to be?"

"It's not like that," Zack replied in a quieter voice than before. "The experiments Hojo performed on me didn't have nearly as unstable results as Cloud. _Still_, no one knows why." The former SOLDIER looked up at Vincent, as if regretting what he was going to say next. "But it might be because…his and Seph's relationship wasn't exactly on the 'same level' if you know what I mean."

"Are you sayin' that Spiky and Mr. I-Love-To-Kill-Everything-In-My-Sight were…close?" Cid uneasily questioned.

"Well…yeah, as a matter of fact, they were."

"HA! Boy did Cloud have bad taste back then!"

The violet-wolf bared his teeth in frustration at the ninja. "Things were different back when we worked for ShinRa. Seph was…well, a humane human being, just like the rest of us." This earned a laugh from Barret. "He's just had some bad things happen to him."

"Yeah, haven't we all?" Barret gestured to his mechanical arm.

"The causes of ShinRa are no match for the horrid results of Hojo's work," Red XIII, who had sat quietly during the whole ordeal, stepped forward to stand at Zack's side. Sephiroth, Vincent, Cloud, obviously Zack, and myself are living proof of this. And only those—like us—who have endured his hellish work can fully understand the living nightmares he bestows on us."

"Yeah, Red, we _know_ what a sick, twisted bastard Hojo was, but tha--"

Slight impatience caused the cat to cut Yuffie off, "My point is," he send Zack a nod. "I agree with Colonel Fair; we should make finding Cloud our first priority. Zack, you just tell us where to go." No one argued with this.

The former colonel nodded back and stepped forward to Cid, "We first need to try to pick up a trail. _Someone _musta seen a few silver-haired guys riding aroun--" the wolf suddenly gave a pained yelp. In an almost-human manner, he stumbled backwards a bit and pressed a paw down on his face until his upper body was practically lying on the floor.

"Zack? Are you alright?" Vincent asked, kneeling at his side. The wolf continued to whine as a dog in terrible pain would. "Fair, what's wrong?"

"I know where he's at," Zack barely whispered. Clearly struggling, the ex-SOLDIER then stood back up again, eyes fixed on Cid. "Captain, do you know where to find a certain church in Sector Five?"

00

00

His head hurt. He felt exhausted. And most of all, he did not like the unfamiliar dark room he found himself in.

Slowly—as to not encourage the ache in his head—Cloud sat up from the painfully stiff cot beneath him. The room was not big, nor did it have a light or windows, so he had no implication as to what the time was. And by the foul smell, he guessed it wasn't well kept or hadn't been used in quite some time. Then again, who would _want_ to?

Cloud's memory was hazy. And the disturbing dream of his didn't help his situation. One thing was for sure, though. If he ever even came _close_ to thinking about attacking one of his friends—not to mention a defenseless little girl—he just might kill _himself_ out of guilt and madness.

As he raised his hand to try and soothe this headache, a jumbled clanking noise caught his attention. Examining his right arm closer, he noticed _another _damn cuff around his wrist. The clanking he'd heard was a chain that held him at a no greater distance than three feet of the cot.

Anger boiling in his veins, the blonde tugged on the chain. When it did nothing but ridicule him with taunting rattles of metal against metal, he practically yanked hard enough to almost snap his wrist. He stopped, however, when he heard a faint chuckle by a far corner.

"I wouldn't bother trying; you won't get it off _that_ way."

Cloud scowled through the darkness at his captor, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Entertaining myself, of course."

The laughing at him was beginning to _really_ piss Cloud off. "Oh. _Hilarious_."

"Glad you think so." The clone giggled ever more, obviously enjoying himself way too much.

"STOP IT!" Cloud yelled, to even his own surprise. "I hardly find this amusing!"

"Well, that's too bad, because," the antagonist chuckled again. "I do."

"You little son of a bitch!" Cloud made a move to advance, but the short chain stopped him. "What the hell do you want from me?!"

"Oh, I already have it. You've already done what I wanted. Well, _some _of it, anyway."

Cloud turned in his glare for a puzzled expression. "…What are you talking about?"

The slightly shorter figure stood and stepped forward; just out of the blonde's reach. Cloud's Mako-induced eyes recognized him once he was close enough. It was the same remnant from earlier. Kadaj smirked at Cloud's surprised expression. "Don't you remember, _Brother_? The church in Midgar. You met an old friend there."

Flashes of memories from Cloud's dream came back to him. Walking into the church, trying to persuade Marlene to come with him, Tifa's questioning, the…battle between the two, leaving with Marlene and his hidden materia. "Wait…" Cloud muttered more in thought than to Kadaj. "Did that really..?"

The remnant smiled again; this time round in grim satisfaction. "Glad you're finally starting to remember."

Horror filled Cloud's eyes at the information that his 'dream'…wasn't a dream at all. It really _did_ happen. Then realization kicked in. with a jerk forward, he demanded in the most dangerous voice he could muster, "Where's Marlene?"

"Safe. You don't need to worry about her; Loz is keeping her company."

"I swear! If you hurt her--!"

"I wouldn't worry about that, either," Kadaj cut in, almost bored, this time. "The children are no good to me dead."

Cloud took a step back, question and worry laced in his voice and gaze. "Children? There's more?"

Kadaj stepped forward again, causing his captive to retreat until his knees hit the cot and he fell back against it. "Several, thanks to you."

"W…what?"

"Haven't you wondered about the happenings earlier today?"

"I…I would do anything like that," Cloud argued, first a little uncertain then more sure of himself. "Tifa's my friend. I'd never hurt her. Or anyone else, for that matter."

"But you did, Brother." The youth replied in a mock sympathetic voice, sitting on the cot's edge at Cloud's side. "At my command, you did."

Cloud didn't respond at first. Not until his captor's last thought _really _cut through. With a movement quicker than Kadaj could have anticipated, he took a fistful of Kadaj's collar. "What did you do to me?"

"Do you _really_ want to know?" Kadaj nodded to Cloud's grip, signaling to let go if he wanted any answers. If he wasn't desperate, Cloud would have just taken the opportunity to strangle the deranged youth. But, he dreadfully needed to know what the hell was going on. So, he let go…in the harshest manner he knew possible. Kadaj stood up and straightened his leather top. "I believe I am, in a sense, doing you a favor, Brother."

"What do you mean 'favor'?! You made me--!"

Kadaj held up a hand to silence him, "Allow me to finish." The clone began to pace to emphasize his speech. "Your actions today were based on exactly how Sephiroth would have acted. Your aggravation, your fighting skills, your speech patterns—all were traced along the lines of his personality. Basically, you were practically him in your own body."

The blonde stared off into space as he listened. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that, yes, the things he did…were exactly what Sephiroth most likely would have done. But…how could this have happened?

"What'd you do to me to make me this way?" the mercenary sourly questioned.

"Past relationships can mean several benefits, Brother," Kadaj answered with a smirk.

"What?"

"Are you telling me that you already for got your very first love? The certain 'connection' the two of you had?"

"How the hell do you know about that?" Cloud did not like where he was sure this was going. And how can someone like Kadaj know about something so private? Something private that took place over five years ago, no less?

Kadaj knelt down and stared at Cloud eye-level, "We're more alike than you think, Brother. I know many things about you. And I have more control over you than you can imagine." He stood up again and made his way to the door, but stopped halfway. "So, I'll make it easier for you."

"Like answering some more of my questions?"

Kadaj smiled as he turned around, "All in good time. But for right now, I need you to do something for me: make it easier on all of us and do as I ask, and I won't hurt your precious friends."

Enraged once again, Cloud abruptly jumped to his feet again, "And I if tell you to drop dead?"

"Then you will watch all of your AVALANCHE comrades die at my hand. One by one. Starting with the little girl." Cloud shut his mouth and sat back on the bed again, knowing that his friends' lives lay with his answer. "Well, Brother? Will you be a good, obedient SOLDIER and obey me? Or will you let your defiance be your friend's undoing?"

There was a long moment that past before Cloud answered; slow and cautious, "Only if you promise…not to hurt them…" a devilish smirk crossed Kadaj's features.

This should be fun…

A/N: Okay, hopefully that sent a little surprise for y'all. And hopefully you all like enough to send a review.

Cloud: Can I ask a question?

Besides the one you just did?

Cloud: Why'd you make me one of them?!

Cuz the Boss wanted me too. So, Ha-Ha!

Cloud: That's not fair. I'm supposed to be a good guy!

Oh, get into character, you big baby.

Cloud: #crosses his arms and pouts#

Reno: Yeah, Cloud, Don't be so sensitive. We only belong to MyOrli until the story's over; can't be too bad. Be like us Turks; tough and untouchable!

Vincent: #Reaches over and cuts off Reno's ponytail with a pair of scissors# You're 'touchable' to me, Turk.

Reno: Hey! That's sooo not right!

Seph: It's only hair, Reno. Besides, aren't you Turks supposed to be tough?

Reno: How 'bout I cut all your pretty hair off, huh?

Seph: Ooh-hoo, I wouldn't try. Besides, my hair's prettier than yours. _And_ I've grown it since birth.

Reno: (sarcastically) Oh, you got me there…you're officially dubbed the Champion of Growing Pretty Hair!

Tifa: Are you children finished?

Reno: Yes, _mom_!

Zack: Any-hoo, pointless bickering aside, review and MyOrli will update as soon as she can. #to MyOrli# alright, I'm finished sucking up. Now where's my promised 50 Gil?

Just cuz you work for me, don't mean you're _really _gonna get paid.

Zack: Wha-- hey!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: …………I'M BAAAAAAACK! Oh my God, I can't apologize enough for keeping you wonderful people waiting for so long! #waaaah!# pleez forgive me! I'm still updating, but they may be slow—maybe once or twice every two weeks. #_ducks behind bullet-proof couch_# blame my school; those idiots blocked the website, so the only way I can update is through MidnightCrystals. N e wayz, I hope y'all haven't given up on me, thank you for still reading! And many more thanx to those who have reviewed!

To…my most recent reviewer who's name I cannot remember at the moment…: Thanx. Hope you send an even bigger "Oh…shyt" this time! Lol! (I know I'm gonna kick myself in the ass once I remember what your name was…)

To xXDeidara-chanXx: Wow! I sure feel luved, lol! Your reviews made _me_ almost squeal…like a crazy fan of a fangirl! ;) it was really nice to discover how much you like my writing. So…here's the eventual next chapt! Enjoy and send another loving review! ;D

To Twin Kars: ……Beautiful? #sniffle, tear# Never thought anyone would describe it _that _way! Million thanx to ya!

To Kags21: Soooo glad you luv it, too!

To anonymous: Of course!

To guess: thanx. Glad you think it's good! Here's your update and…you'll find out soon. Muahahahaha! …eep! I think I'm pulling a Sephiroth and going insane!

Seph: #bitterly# Ha…ha. _Very_ funny.

Gee, _I _thought so.

To ElvinDragon: Here's your update. Enjoy!

To CrimsonPuppet: So glad you like, Boss! #rain of flowers and confetti# Here's more!

Oh, RUUUUUDE! It's your turn! I did it last time.

Rude: #Fatigued sigh# Disclaimer's the same. Still not hers…for long.

Cloud: I still can't believe this is happening to me. …I'm not a villain!

We'll just tell anyone who asks that you've reached your peak in the "good guy" business.

Zack: If you're trying to lift his spirits, I'd say you're doing a shitty job.

Don't make me dock you pay, Zack.

Zack: HA! You haven't given me my first pay yet! I wanna talk to my agent!

Aeris: #elbows him in the side# Um. Zack? We don't _have_ agents. We're just mercilessly tossed around various Fanfiction writers without obtaining profit.

Zack: Alllllright, then. Then I wanna talk to a sensible human being who will put an end to our abuse!

#cricket chirp#

Kadaj: #nervously biting his nails# Uh…I doubt you'll find one around here on MyOrli's pages.

Zack: Fine. In that case, I wanna--

Seph: #clears throat and motions to MyOrli picking up a baseball bat and slinging it on her shoulder#

Zack: --Uh…avoid a homicidal female who wants to do me bodily harm! HEEEEELP! #runs of and MyOrli chases#

Vincent: He'll never learn to keep his abnormally large mouth _shut,_ will he?

Cloud: After all these years? I doubt it.

Kadaj sat at a particular desk in a particular room filled with selves of books. He leaned back in the armchair with his feet propped up on the desk while Yazoo paced in front of him.

"I can't seem to understand it," Kadaj suddenly thought aloud, voice slightly muffled due to his index finger sliding to and fro across his lower lip. Yazoo stopped and turned to him with a quiet, but curious 'hmm?' escaping his throat. "The serum worked, so why didn't he bring Mother back with him? Or at least lead us to her?"

"Perhaps he really _doesn't_ know where she is?" his brother clone offered. "Perhaps we're a step ahead of ourselves?"

"He _has_ to know!" Kadaj desperately snapped as he abruptly stood from his seat. "He is the one who defeated Sephiroth! He's the only…_recorded_ one to succeed as a 'Sephiroth clone' according to that deranged scientist." With disgust laced in his tone in the last thought, Kadaj stood from his seat, picked up a musty-green colored book from the nearest shelf and flipped through a few pages before slamming it shut again and chucking it across the room. Leaning against the shelves with his arms crossed, he continued, "And he was _there_ when Sephiroth was defeated. How could he _not_ know?"

"You forget, Kadaj," Yazoo blandly stated, not flinching even in the slightest at Kadaj's desperation-induced violent actions. "That Strife does not equal one of us."

"He's a clone just like the rest of us." The younger one roughly pushed off the wall and turned his back on the other.

"Yes, but…he is still different. He does not share the same dream as us."

Kadaj devilishly smirked as he heard two pairs of footsteps becoming louder and louder outside of the room, "Oh, he will. When the time comes. In the meantime, we'll just have to continue to press the President for answers."

The door behind the remnants opened and the said blonde mercenary was roughly shoved into the room by Loz, who was right behind him, holding his untainted arm in a vice-like grip.

"What the hell do you think I am? Some kinda _pet_ of yours that you can just _control_?" he acidly spat in hatred of his captors.

"It certainly seems that way, doesn't it?" Kadaj turned to face him as he retorted in amusement in his voice.

Cloud's eyes narrowed. He scoffed, yanking his arm out from Loz's grasp. "What do you want?

Kadaj ignored the question, teasingly squeezing Cloud's covered arm with a glint of glee in his eyes, "How do does the arm feel, Brother?"

Flinching as little as possible, the ex-SOLDIER growled through his teeth, "Quit calling me that!"

"Would you prefer 'pet'?" another growl. The clone smirked, if possible, even wider, turning away to resume his place at the desk, "Yes, perhaps that would make you step down a level, wouldn't it? But onto more important things…" he gestured to Yazoo, who approached him, laying an undistinguishable object wrapped in a cloth in his hands. "I am off to request another meeting with the Turks of ShinRa. Obviously, you cannot provide us with the information we need, so I am back to square one."

Cloud's look got even sourer, "And…why would you think this would interest me in the least?" he bitterly asked. "If you're going, fine by me. But I hope they kick your ass a million times over…each."

"Oh, _I'd_ say it would interest you, Brother," Kadaj continued, ignoring the latter half of Cloud's comment. He made his way back over to Cloud, whose glare hadn't faded in the least. "Because in my absence, you must help Yazoo gather up a few bundles of children for me."

Mako-blue eyes widened a bit, "What? What's the matter with you?"

"You'll see in due time," Yazoo joined Kadaj at Cloud's side. "For now, the important thing is seeing the task through. They are vital for Mother's reunion."

"You're sick," Cloud spat, jerking forward in attempt to flatten the clone with his own fist, but was held back by Loz. However, that didn't stop Cloud from damn near losing his temper. "They're just _kids_! Speaking of which, I wanna see Marlene! I wanna make sure she really _is_ safe!"

"Of course…" Kadaj smoothly purred and gestured for Yazoo to leave the room. "After all, you have been a well-behaved pet for a while." Again, Cloud growled at this.

"I think I'd prefer 'Brother'." The blonde muttered under his breath.

"Ah. Then, you finally accepted your place at our side?"

Anger had reached its boiling point in Cloud by then. Losing all restraint, he spat in Kadaj's face. "Fuck you."

The clone calmly wiped his face. He smiled mockingly, yet held back pent-up dissatisfaction, "A bit bipolar, are we?"

Oh, that little--"You--!"

"Cloud?" the blonde spun around as much as Loz's hold would allow upon hearing the sound of a familiar, six-year-old voice.

"Marlene!"

"Cloud! The little girl went to hug him, but was held back by Yazoo.

"Sorry, little girl," Yazoo purred in Marlene's ear. "Brother's being bad. Maybe once he's been punished he'll behave again. _Then_ you can visit with him."

"Let go of her," Cloud growled. He was _not_ happy. "Let her go, or I _swear_ to high-heaven that I will hurt you. Badly," The clone merely smirked, leaning down once again to Marlene's height as she stared wide-eyed at the scene around her.

"You see? He's not being nice. We can't have you around Brother is he isn't being nice, can we?"

Thank Gaia; Barret's daughter seemed to ignore him, reaching a hand out to tug at the blonde hero's, "Cloud…"

"Don't worry, Marlene," Cloud gently assured whilst Loz persistently tried to pull him away. "I'll get us outta--"

"Time's up, Brother," Kadaj's irritating voice cut in with a hint of mirth. Cloud tried to follow when Yazoo took Marlene from the room again, but to no avail as Loz's hold tightened painfully on him, limiting his movement impossibly more. He turned back to Kadaj, ready to-- Oh _shit_!"It's time to go to work," the little bastard purred.

It was a syringe that was wrapped in that cloth in the clone's hands. Cloud shrank away as it drew closer. He couldn't get away…

_Zack…help me…_

00

00

"Wha' the hell happened here?" Barret's voice ricocheted of the battered walls of Aeris' sanctuary as he entered, followed by the rest of AVALANCHE.

Zack stood halfway down the aisle as he surveyed the freshly tattered walls, pillars, and pews around him. With a sigh, he replied, "Cloud. That's what happened."

"Spiky did this?!" Yuffie questioned behind him, hopping on a collapsed pew to examine what looked like a clean slice in the seat. "Boooy, did someone really piss him off!"

"How do you know it was Cloud?" Vincent asked in a low voice, kneeling next to the wolf.

Zack sighed again, tilting his head to his interrogator's direction, yet keeping his gaze to the wooden floorboards. "I saw it…" he hissed and began to pace around and examine the church.

Vincent furrowed his brows and stared in question after the ex-SOLDIER. How..? Wait. Zack's fresh from the Lifestream, isn't he? He could do whatever the hell he wanted…right? Or maybe it wasn't his idea… Perhaps….

A soft groan by the bed of flowers pulled the ex-Turk from his thoughts. He stood up and turned to the others, "Everyone quiet. Do you hear that?"

Everyone was motionless and silent until the faint sound made itself heard again. "Someone's here!" Barret exclaimed, running over to the flowers where, upon approaching, everyone saw a still, female form clothed in black leather sprawled among them. "It's Tifa!" at this, AVALANCHE—save for Vincent and Zack—hurried over. Zack didn't seem surprised. Vincent wanted to know why.

"Tifa! You alrigh'?" Barret worriedly questioned as he lifted her weak form in half-bridal style while the others gathered around. "Tif, answer me! What happened to ya?"

Said bartender gave a soft groan again before looking up at him, "I…he…wasn't…him…"

Barret hurriedly turned to Yuffie and barked, "Yuffie, Restore Materia. Now!" the ninja quickly nodded and sprinted as fast as possible to the _Shera_.

Tifa wasn't a very pretty sight, given her current condition. Various gashes marked her face, blood along with rips and tears covered her black outfit. Her arms and neck were littered with bruises and her left-side strands of hair were charred and singed at chin-length—almost as if they were burned off.

Cid knelt beside Barret and gently shook Tifa's shoulder, trying to keep her conscious, "Hey, Tif. What happened, here? Who—or what—in the hell did this to you?"

The bartender peered at the two men through half-lidded eyes, "Cl…Cloud," her incredibly weak voice replied. "He--but…but it wasn't _him_. He wouldn't--something's wrong. Help him, Barret. It's not…him…"

"What're ya talkin' about?" Cid asked, he and Barret equally bewildered. "What's up with ol' Spiky?"

Tifa grimaced a bit as she tried to sit up a little more…yet failing miserably. "Something…came over him. He attacked m…me. And took Marlene. But I don't…know…" at last, her head fell back at about the same time Yuffie returned and she spoke no more.

Cid snatched the glowing materia orb from Yuffie and jumped up, "We gotta get 'er back up to the ship fast!"

Barret scooped his friend up, hurrying out of the church and back up to the _Shera, _closely followed by followed by Cid and Yuffie. Nanaki paced over to Vincent and Zack, head hung in slight mourn. "Then it is true; Cloud was here after all." He snapped his furry head up at the two, thought burning his mind, "But why he would attack a comrade and leave so quickly is a question I can't stop asking myself." The cat now cast appointing stare to Zack, "I fear you were right, Colonel. Cloud has become something identical to what we've feared for years."

"But how he knows so much that we can't possibly know ourselves is _my_ question." Vincent almost coolly added, also averting his gaze to stare at the wolf. "What are you not telling us?"

Zack met Vincent's red eyes and his own slightly narrowed—like he was trying to glare. "I _told_ you everything you need to know. Now, if you're done asking me pointless questions, I suggest we see to our friend in the ship, shall we? He turned and moved to trot out of the church, but a golden boot roughly shoved him up against the nearest wall, trapping him there. Vincent's eyes were blazing.

"Vincent..!" Nanaki cried in surprise, though not daring to physically try to separate him from the former SOLDIER.

The gunman ignored the feline and kept his gaze on Zack, "You've told us _what_ you know. You've failed to tell us _why_ you know."

"Why would you give a shit?" the wolf snapped.

"Because it's apparent you're hiding something." Nanaki looked up questioningly at this.

"If it's anything really important, I would have…told you!" the wolf began to wheeze in pain due to his crushing position.

"Then I suppose your superior and extrasensory knowledge isn't important?"

"Dammit, Vince, _look at me_! I got flushed outta the 'Exit' tube of the Lifestream. I'd think it's kinda natural for a resurrected guy to do things you can't explain, don'cha think?"

"That's not it," Vincent growled. "An extra power wouldn't cause you pain if it's supposed to be there.

Zack suddenly remembered: he gave off more than he should have back at the _Shera_…

_**The wolf suddenly gave a pained yelp. In an almost-human manner, he stumbled backwards a bit and pressed a paw down on his face until his upper body was practically lying on the floor.**_

At his moment of sudden realization, however, the familiar surge of pain shot through his body again, starting within his brain and flowing throughout the rest of him and back again. He yelped again, causing Vincent to back off a little in surprise.

Zack hit the floor with a canine's whine. He didn't stand back up. He didn't move at all. He merely let soft whimpers erupt from his throat. What Vincent and Nanaki _weren't_ aware of was the barrage of flashing images and cluttered voices that filled his mind.

"_**The children trust you, Brother. They will be more easily swayed if **_**you**_** were to convince them."**_

"_**This is inhuman. You can't possibly want to involve innocent kids in this?"**_

"_**Don't forget your pledge to us, Strife. We still have **_**one**_** particular child to demonstrate our impatience should you go back on your word."**_

_**Arm. Twist. Needle. Sharp pain. No! This isn't right!**_

"…_Cloud_…" was the single word that managed to escape Zack's lips.

"What's going on, Fair?" Vincent demanded. "What's wrong with you?"

"…Resist, Cloud…" The wolf hissed, completely oblivious to Vincent's voice. "Fight…back!"

"Colonel," Red XIII crouched beside the wolf, nuzzling his snout with his own in attempt to get him to stand, to focus. "Compose yourself. Show control."

"…Don't…let them…"

"Colonel! Get ahold of yourself!"

Zack finally snapped his head up and stared at the over-sized feline, "I…"

"Care to explain?"

Zack shook his head. With a little difficulty, the ex-SOLIDER regained his feet—erm, I mean paws. "It's complicated. You wouldn't understand. I'm not sure you'll want to anyways."

"Vincent advanced on Zack again—without the threatening movements, but his eyes still dangerously flashing. "After every possible thing I've seen, fought, and experienced…why don't you try me?"

00

00

"That's all I can do for now, Barret," Cid gloomily to the AVALANCHE leader as he stood from his place beside the bed in which Tifa lay. He set the Restore materia on the side table of the infirmary. "As for her hair…well, I guess it can serve as a new style, or we can cut the rest off."

"Well, one thing's for sure: when I find tha' Spiky-headed bastard, the last thing he's gonna see is my gun in his face!" Barret huffed, leaning against a far wall.

"Aw, lighten up, big guy!" Yuffie exclaimed from Tifa's other side. "You heard Tif: Cloud wadn't himself! He obviously either couldn't control himself or he had no clue what the hell he was doing."

"Yuf, he took my lil' girl to Gawd-knows-where! And nearly killed Tifa! Are we supposed ta jes forget about it and wait til' he kills the rest of us?!"

"Well, I guess this tells us somethin', don't it?" Cid cut in, turning to face Barret.

"Yeah, wha'?"

"That wolf-SOLDIER was right; he knew this was gonna happen." He gave his comrade a pointing stare, "I say we should start takin' everything he says seriously."

Barret pushed off the wall and his crossed arms fell to his sides. "Now, look, Highwind! Takin' orders from Strife is bad enough. If you think I'm gonna start lissenin' to that _smug_ ex-Colonel, then you musta completely lost your mind!"

"What choice do we have, Wallace? If it weren't for the kid tellin' us to go to the church, Tifa may have bleed to death or died from wound infection. Midgar's hardly anythin' other than a ruin, now. I doubt anyone but us would've dropped by and found her. Frankly, I'm startin' to agree with Red: Fair might be a real importance to us if we just _listen_."

Barret gave a barking laugh, "One cocky ShinRa boy's bad enough. I think I've had my share ta last a lifetime. So, I'm sure we can get by jes fine without Fair and his I-know-all-about-this-n'-that attitude."

"You gonna let your pride get in the way of useful help around here?!" Yuffie spat in disgust of her leader. "The old man's right, y'know; of we just barely saved _Tifa's_ neck, think of how many others we can save!"

Barret laughed again, if possible, more bitter than before, "Don' ya hear yourself, Yuffie? You sound like you think ol' Sephiroth's come back from the dead an' gonna try ta kill us again!"

"With the way things've been goin' down, I'd say you can't be far from the truth!" the ninja retorted, hands on her hips.

"An' jes since when d'_you_ care 'bout what happens, huh?" Barret shot back. "When I firs' met you, all you cared about was jackin' material wherever you found it!"

"Hey, now, that ain't exactly fair, Barret," the Captain stepped in just as an expression of hurt crossed the ninja's face, tears filling her chocolate eyes. "We _all _changed somewhat after that fight a coupla years ago. Yuf ain't that smugglin' teen no more an' Spiky ain't the all-that ex-SOLDIER he used to be. I say we check this out and see jus' what the hell's goin' on.

00

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"You've got the stigma, too?"

Denzel looked up at the pigtail-haired girl in front of him as he sat on the front steps of the seventh heaven. She held a rather dingy Mog doll in an obviously infected hand, which led up her arm and her neck.

Denzel didn't respond to her, but the mournful look he bore on his face didn't stop her from pulling him to his feet. "C'mon! Cloud's here! They're gonna fix us."

"C-Cloud?" was all the boy could utter before the girl drug him off.

The children came to a stop when they reached a fairly-sized truck. Its tailgate was down and several other youths were loading themselves in. Among them, Denzel noticed, was a familiar blonde helping the shorter ones up and such.

While the brunette peer of Denzel's climbed in with the rest of the kids, Denzel himself approached the mercenary from behind. "Um. Cloud?"

Said blonde turned and looked down at him…through his bike goggles. Cloud smiled at Denzel, but a trained eye would notice the malice behind the grin, "Hey, Denzel. You coming?"

"Uh…where?"

Cloud's, erm, smirk grew as he answered, motioning to the truck, "To be cured. I doubt you'll wanna live with what's rest of your days with that spoiled skin on your face, right?"

Denzel raised a hand and ran his fingers gingerly over the Geostigma welts that blackened his forehead. He shook his head, "No."

His blonde hero immediately took the message and lifted the boy up and onto the truck, shutting the tailgate afterward, "Well, it'll be fixed in no time. You'll see."

Cloud had almost turned away before Denzel spoke up again, "Um, Cloud?" the blonde looked back at the youth, eyebrows raised, "Weren't Tifa and Marlene going to see you at the church?"

There was a pause that seemed to stretch on forever as Cloud stared at Denzel. At last, he replied, "Oh, yeah. Mar-Marlene's already where we need to go. You'll see her there." With that, Cloud turned and headed towards a rather run-down looking motorbike—nothing like Fenrir at all.

"But what about Tifa? Where's she at?"

Without looking back, the ex-SOLDIER called back, "Make sure you stay close to the other kids when we get there, okay? Don't want you to wander off and get lost." He then looked toward a silver-haired comrade by the hood of the truck. Giving a nod, he hopped on his 'new' bike and sped off.

Yazoo chuckled quietly in approval before climbing into the driver's seat.

A/N: There ya'll go! I've got my rock on my roll again! …But I apologize for Vincent's over-paranoia in this chapt…

Vincent: #angry silence#

I mean, with all that's goin' on and Cloud's best friend is in the form of a _dog_? Heheh, who _wouldn't _be paranoid, no_? _And…sorry Barret's being such a #bleep#, but he'll lighten up…once he gets his head out of his ass! Lol!

Barret: Hey, wait a minnit! I was jes doin' what I was told!

Funny…Barret listens to _me_, but no one else. Am I dominate or what? Who—just who—else can manage to scare 'Scary Barret' into following orders?

Barret: Hey. That ain't fair…

Intimidation followed by humiliation is a bitch huh? N e wayz, review and I'll update as soon as I can!

Cloud: DON'T REVIEW! It only encourages her! I dunno how much more of this I can take. SOMEBODY SAVE MEEEE!

Sephiroth: #slaps Cloud's shoulder# Courage, Camille.

Cloud: Shut up, Seph! You're not the one being forced into doing evil deeds, here!

Sephiroth: I don't' have to; my insanity excuses my committing evil deeds on my own behalf.

Careful Seph; I just might be tempted to turn you into a good guy again, you know.

Sephiroth: Are you saying that because it will actually happen, or are you just throwing empty threats in my direction?

Ooh, Seph! You're a brave one to be talkin' back to me like that… But to answer your question, possibly a little bit of both! MUAHAHAHAHA! SUSPEEEEENSE!

Sephiroth: #quirking an eyebrow# ……I _dare _someone to say she hasn't visited the loony bin at least a couple of times.

Zack: #chuckles# Totally. I bet if she was in SOLDIER, they would have given her a Section Eight discharge before she was ever fully enlisted.

A-hem. Zaaaaaack? #grabs metal baseball bat and slaps it on her palm# Did I hear you right?

Yuffie: Uh-oh. She's at it again!

Zack: #Backs away# Oh, for the love of God! Enough with the bat already! I'm sore enough as it is!

CHAAAARGE!

Zack: #Runs away screaming his head off#

Reno: Ooh-hoo! Anybody got a video camera?


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Hey, y'all! I'm finally back! Sorry I haven't been here for a while, but…well, you probably know the story…and final exams are a royal pain in my #bleep!# Well n e way, enough of my ranting. Read, enjoy, and Review!

**Warning: This chapt does mention not-so-comfy situations. You have been warned.**

**_To CrimsonpuppetP: _**ARGH! Yeah, that's frustrating, huh? Lol. Oh, well. The important thing is your still reading and liking it! ;) I'm happy that I'm making you happy! And I do apologize for my agonizingly…slow…updates. (I hate my school…) MidnightCrystals is helping me as much as she can, though. It's just that she's been as busy as I have. D: don't worry; I won't die on you! :D I'm not givin' up that easily. And about Cloud's bike: yeah it got totaled when Yazoo and Loz chased him down (though I do wince at how I kinda seemed to rush through that chapt…) Don't worry, though; I might fix it back up…or rather, I'll make Zack do it! ;) #whip crack# he has become such a useful slave! MUAHAHAHAHA! (Ugh…I clearly need therapy or somethin'…)

**_To ElvinDragon:_** Can't tell you how happy I am you're still likin' this! And don't worry; it won't be sad for long…it'll get angsty and depressing! MUAHAHAHAA! (…eep. There I go again.) but seriously, it'll get better—just not yet! Lol. Keep reading, love your support!

#whip crack# Alright, Zack! You're up!

Zack: #cowering# Doesn't own us! Though she has this sadistic delusion that she does! THIS ISN'T FAIR!

Aeris: I _told_ you that you wouldn't be able to outrun her, Zackary. Why do you keep overstepping the boundaries when you _know_ it just gets you in the worst situations possible?

Zack: I can't help it! It's in my nature to--

Reno: Be an idiot?

Zack: _No_. To show my dissatisfaction with being treated so…so…_wrong_!

Vincent: #under his breath# You know, if he'd just suck it up and go with it, it would make the experience a lot more bearable.

Sephiroth: #sitting cross-legged on a desk and examining his nails# I've been telling him that for years…regarding many various situations.

"What do you mean…connected?"

Zack sighed and laid his head down on the church floorboards. "I told you that you wouldn't get it."

Vincent's brow furrowed in slight irritation. "Well, simply saying 'Cloud and I are kind of connected' doesn't really say much. Now spill unless you want to be seen in the form of a mink stole."

"Okay," Zack shot back bitterly, jumping to his feet. "For starters, you can blame that sick fuck, Hojo! If it weren't for him, _none_ of this would have had to happen! _Including_ Seph losing it!" There was a pause during which nobody said anything, but Zack had shifted his gaze almost shamfully to the floor. "Hell, none of us would be standing here like this if it wasn't for him…"

Vincent sympathized for a minute with him, but…was he avoiding the question, or something? He shifted a little where he sat against the side of a pew—one leg bent to rest his arm on—in obvious impatience, "All of us here know that from first-hand experience. But that doesn't explain--"

"We weren't just held in mako tanks for four and a half years, alright?!" another period of silence. Zack let out a shaky exhale of breath and turned away to hop up on a splintered pew. It was a few more moments until he spoke again. "It was more torture than you can possibly imagine. Experiments, tests, injections…other things." The last bit was extremely quiet as if Zack spoke in the presence of ghosts. Vincent and Nanaki weren't sure, but both thought they heard a quiet canine whimper before Zack continued in a feigned strong tone. "All while we were conscious and aware. Sadistic bastard. And he…did something else to us. I'm not sure what, but…" Zack finally turned back to his small audience, sadness deep within his violet eyes. "I know when Cloud's in danger. Or hurt. Or…you get the idea."

"How's this, Zack?" Nanaki patiently asked, his head resting on Vincent's leg. Zack laid his head down again.

"I…see things. Kinda like a brief summery or trailer of what's going on. It mainly feeds me the main idea and stuff. But…it hurts when it happens. Like all my emotional pain is turned into physical pain."

"And you don't know how Hojo did this?" asked the ex-Turk, feeling a little more calm, now—even absently stroking Red XIII's fur.

With a shake of his head, Zack affirmed. "All I remember is pain. And screams………Cloud's screams." A shiver passed through him as several morbid memories raced through his mind.

_00_

_00_

_Flashback_

_"Zack! Zack, please! Don't--"_

_"Let him go, you sick son of a bitch!" Zack screamed, slamming his fists as hard as his weary muscles allowed against the glass—which, in truth, wasn't very. "I'll fucking kill you!" his threats were ignored while he himself was manhandled and taken from the mako tank. He was placed on the table beside Cloud, whose struggles had died at last. It ached Zack to see it, but all the little blonde teen could manage was to let big, miserable, terrified tears fall. Zack tried to reach for his hand, but his own wrist was tightly bound down by leather cuffs on the tabletop. His other wrist and ankles were treated in the same fashion. _

_Soft sobs beside him broke his heart for the millionth time, "Zack…I don't wanna…hurt anymore…"_

_Zack could hardly do anything, except, "Shh, it's okay, baby. It'll be over soon. I'm right here." He wanted so badly to squeeze the younger teen's hand, to reassure him it'll be alright. But he had a tough time believing it himself, especially when the screaming started all over again…_

_00_

_00_

"Um…Zack?" Nanaki quietly called to the silent and motionless ex-SOLDIER. "Are you alright?" no answer; Zack was too absorbed in his thoughts to hear him.

_00_

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_Flashback_

_"He certainly is a pretty one, isn't he?" Zack ground his teeth at the hideous voice. The disgusting scientist paced around the table on which Cloud still lay. Zack had already been placed back in his mako tank. "To think my _son_ had claimed him before me! Well, not all is lost…"_

_"Get the fuck away from him!" Zack screamed ferociously. "I swear I'll make you pay, you sick bastard!" he pounded repeatedly against the glass, but it barely rattled. _

_"Patience, Specimen A," Hojo's high-pitched voice mockingly called back whilst petting Cloud's hair. The teenager began to quietly sob again. He knew what was coming. "It will again be your turn soon enough. But," he cackled in his demented way, sending shiver's down both boy's backs. "Everyone has their favorite toy!" _

_Hojo cackled louder and Zack beat the glass harder, "Stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it STOP IT! Leave him alone!" but his voice became weaker as his threats turned into soft sobs. "Take me instead! Don't hurt him anymore! Hurt _me_! Do anything you want! Just…leave him alone!" his cries were ignored as Hojo proceeded with his nightly ritual. Zack could only watch and cry as Cloud began to scream again. But this time, it wasn't because of the needles and experiments. This time, it was ultimately worse._

_00_

_00_

A definite whimper escaped Zack's throat at the memory. He'd jumped down from his perch and now stood at the edge of the flowerbed. He seemed to be musing to himself now rather than speaking to Vincent and Nanaki, "Oh, Cloud…he was still such a child—still is. He was hurt…_way_ more than me. He was Hojo's favorite. I wanted it to be me; _anything_ to keep Cloud from hurting. But Hojo knew that's what I wanted. That fucking BASTARD!" the other two started at the last statement which came out more like howl. And then, a howl _did_ sound; it echoed all throughout the church until the pillars and walls shook. And then, everything was quiet.

Vincent stood and silently made his way over to the distraught wolf. All reason for suspicion gone, now, he knelt next to him and gently stroked the silver and brown fur, making Zack jump at first. Vincent saw plain as day how tortured the ex-SOLDIER was. There was no conspiracy in his eyes; he just wanted to protect the only one who still meant something to him. And Vincent figured he'd be damned if he didn't help him.

"Then we won't let him suffer anymore." He softly assured, all the determination in his voice he could muster. "Whatever it is you see…it can help lead us to him. We'll bring him home. Together." Gaia, if he could have, Zack Fair would have cried just then.

00

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"I'm tellin', ya; I got a _really _bad feeling about this…"

"Will you _shut up_, already, Reno?" the redhead's partner groaned, rubbing his temples wearily. "We're going to Edge, end of story. Strife and his little gang most likely have something to do with the President's disappearance. That is where we'll start."

Reno gripped the control stick tightly; so tight his knuckles paled and the helicopter he piloted shook a little. "Why does everyone blame Cloud for everything unfortunate that happens to us? It could be something totally different!"

Rude's eyes narrowed behind his shades, "Why are you getting so defensive?" Reno said nothing but kept his eyes straight ahead. Rude sighed again and tried to approach the issue a little more softly, "Look. He's been a terrorist to ShinRa before in the past--"

"With good enough reason!"

Rude ignored the retort, "--he doesn't answer when we call him--"

"He wasn't there."

"--he doesn't come to Healin when he surely got the message--"

"We don't know that."

Rude now clenched his fists in irritation, "--_and_ a so-called clone of Sephiroth comes knocking at our door and when we wake up, both him and the President are gone!"

"Well, how the hell do we know Cloud's got somethin' to do with that wanna-be?"

There was a brief period of silence as Rude contemplated a few things, "Why are you defending him so passionately?"

Reno ignored the question and instead shot back, "Why are you always singling AVALANCHE out for blame? They've been pretty quiet and behaved since Meteorfall. As far as I've seen, they've just been living out their lives!" the chopper began quake again in its flight as Reno's voice came out between clenched teeth. "Hell, Cloud sank to a _delivery boy_! What the hell does that--?!"

"Reno, keep eyes on your path!" Rude drew a steady breath again once the other Turk veered away from a cliff he damn near crashed into. He gave another weary sigh after a few more moments, pinching the bridge of his nose, "Listen, Reno, all I'm saying is we have to check out every possibility."

"And _I _say we're wasting our time going to Edge! What the hell do you expect to find?"

At this, his partner let out a hardly-concealed growl, "Alright, fine. If you want to head out on a wild goose chase just to confirm your suspicions, be my guest. Just do so _after _you've set me down because I am still going to Tifa's bar. There's bound to be something there that can help us out."

"Okay, FINE! Just don't you come cryin 'to me if you can't find anything!" With that, Reno shut off the engine as soon as he'd landed outside of the city and jumped out the second he could.

Rude followed suit, though caught himself wondering why his partner was heading towards…Midgar. "Reno, where do you think you're going?"

"Anywhere away from your know-it-all ego! By the way, don't get your head stuck in the front door when you go to the Seventh Heaven; I don't think Tifa would find it very attractive!" with that said, the redhead was gone.

00

00

Reno had no clue what had possessed him to go to the old church in Sector Five. It's not like he would do any better than Rude. Oh, well. Maybe he just wanted some peace and quiet; the perfect qualities a church could offer—though he never really was for worshiping religion. Oh, come on, Reno! Stop thinkin' too much!

A faint smile crept onto his face; Zack used to tell him that as a sort of joke between them. _"Don't think so much! That's not what you're paid for!"_ Every time Reno would try to solve something or figure something out with logic, Zack used that line to remind him that, hey, if you try too hard, you'll never figure anything out! Hm. So true.

The Turk paused when he came to the front doors of the sanctuary. One was hanging by only one hinge. The other was ripped completely off. Who the hell did _that_? It's a _church_, for Gaia's sake! Isn't it sacrilege or something to desecrate a church? Reno shook his head to clear his thoughts. _You think too much, man_.

When he entered, Reno was however met with even more damage—he barely recognized the place! I mean, sure, he and his little troop had messed it up a little bit when they'd chased Cloud and Aeris throughout the place, but…geez! They didn't do _this_!

Hey…is that…Vincent Valentine? Reno scratched his head with his nightstick, a look of confusion setting on his face. This was getting _way_ weird! What the fuck is _Valentine_ doing here? Wait…is he talking…to a _wolf_?

Okay, time to wake up, Reno! You obviously had one too many shots of tequila last night! Hey. Is that wolf talking, too? What the freaking hell! You _really _had too many shots last night! _Never _trust yourself in a local village bar alone! Especially one out in the middle of a bunch of trees and rivers! …What do they put in that stuff, anyway?

00

00

"Shouldn't we wait til Red gets back?" Zack asked as he toed around Aeris' many flowers. _Gaia_ he missed these!

"I told him to leave with Cid and the others. They're going to keep an eye out around this area; see if they spot Cloud or the Remnants coming back." Zack snapped his head up, ready to ask why Red wasn't joining Vincent and himself, but Vincent continued before he could, "We'll travel better if it's just the two of us. I personally don't need many necessities, and I'd assume the same about you."

Zack arched his shoulders briefly in an obvious attempt to shrug, "I guess not. Hey, I'm a talking, Lifestream-fresh wolf. Heh, I bet anyone else would be thinkin' they're drunk or insane if they happened to walk in right about now." The wolf suddenly paused and he sniffed the air for a second.

"Something wrong?" Vincent asked, checking his surroundings.

"Someone's here." The wolf hissed and began to slowly make his way out of the bed of flowers, toward the aisle way. "Hold on a second."

The next few moments were quiet as Zack inspected the sanctuary. Vincent didn't move, but still looked around him, Cerberus raised and ready to fire if trouble arose. Then again…what if it was Cloud again?

The ex-Turk sharply spun at the sound of a sudden ferocious snarl and a yelp of a person. He hurried over to where he saw the end of Zack's tail from behind the furthest pew. Zack had his teeth clenched, gripping the collar of a dark suit…with and untucked, dingy undershirt…and bright red hair..?

"Hey! Get off! I'm warnin' ya, pooch! If you don't--"

"Reno?"

"…_Zack_?" Zack let go of Reno's collar, allowing the Turk to regain his feet. Reno brushed himself off and violently shook his head again. "_Dude_! I hafta be hung over or somethin'! I-I mean…GEEZ!"

"I can see this is a discomfited time for you to be dropping in," Vincent dryly commented whilst watching in slight amusement as Reno paced about and repeated hit his nightstick against his head.

"Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake _UP_!"

"Um, Reno," Zack tentatively cut in, though the Turk didn't cease his…waking up process. (Which was proving not to be very effective.) "Hey, buddy. You're not dreamin'."

"Ha! Right!" Reno ranted skeptically, stopping only for a minute to eye the talking canine. "That's exactly what a dream-Zack-in-wolf-form would say!" Zack opened his mouth again, but found no room to interject, "I mean _come on_! There's no way my former best friend…who died a few years ago…is standing in fronta me…and happens to be a wolf, now…talking to me..?" a wearied and bedazzled expression befell Reno's face. He slumped back down on the floor and began to idly tap his forehead once again with his weapon. "That's it, Reno. You've finally cracked. Tseng warned ya somethin' like this may happen someday. But…" he lowered the nightstick to twist it in his hands, eyes blank and staring into space, "I never really…_believed _him! I'm Reno! I'm invincible! I'm--"

"Yoo-hoo!" Zack tried again. He'd lowered his head to look up into Reno's spaced blue eyes. Reno jumped and leaned back a little. "Dude, this may be more than a little awkward right now but, I'm tellin' ya, this ain't no illusion or dream. I really _am_ here. Just…not how you remember me."

Eyes still wide, the Turk slowly stood back up and paced around the wolf. After a moment, he stopped behind his friend and scratched his head via the electrorod again, "Shit, man. What the hell'd that chem/biology freak o' nature _do_ to you?"

Zack let out a weary sigh and turned to face Reno, "It's a hell of a long story, bud. But the…wolf thing is someone else's doing. But we'll save that story for a more convenient time."

Vincent cocked an eyebrow. 'Someone else's doing'? Ah, come on! Zack just probably had a simple slip of the tongue! From what he'd heard from Cloud—however rare the occasion was—Zack wasn't exactly the most graceful being on the Planet. Or maybe…he didn't leave something out, did he? Hmm…

"…Well, do you have any means of transport?" Zack's voice flooded back into his hearing. Vincent shook his head. There's really no need for Zack to hide anything from him! That was proven a while back.

Reno thought for a second, deliberating over the several possibilities that could get him demoted, fired, or even killed. Ooh, it's gotta be exciting if he gets to risk all of _that_! "Well, I do have the chopper. It's parked right outside Edge."

"Great! We can make it to the City of the Ancients by dark!"

Zack began to turn away and head out, but both Reno and Vincent halted him by simultaneously asking, "The City of the Ancients?"

"Why would we need to go to the Forgotten City?" Vincent pressed. Zack paused in the doorway.

"Oh. Um. Well, that's another thing I saw," the wolf looked back over his shoulder, sadness returning to his eyes. "They're bringing the kids up to the Ancient City. Cloud's bound to be there, right?"

Vincent ignored any other intruding—even somewhat suspicious—thoughts as he followed the ex-SOLDIER out. Meanwhile, Reno groaned in sudden realization. His shoulders slumped in weariness, "The Forgotten City? Aw, man! Rude's _so_ not gonna like this!" then he remembered. That prick! Always that know-it-all pompous attitude! He'd never let him go all the way up to the Northern Continent 'just to confirm his suspicions', much less take a former enemy and a former-friend-who-was-supposed-to-be-dead along with him! Ha! The bastard could just stay here in Edge looking for his answers; maybe even fail at a few more attempts to go out with Tifa. Heh. Ah, he'll call him later…when he's too far out of ranting range!

"Alrighty, guys! Forgotten City it is!"

00

00

Cloud opened his eyes and blinked against the bright lights illuminating around him. From the trees? The City of the Ancients..? He didn't remember this. Wait…hey maybe he'd dreamed all that had happened! He sure was tired after that battle here…when Sephiroth killed Aeris. Oh, Aeris!

He'd just laid her down to rest in the blessed water…the pond he was lying by. Hm. Maybe he _had_ been dreaming the whole thing. Like, maybe fell asleep after Aeris had gone. Ha! Attack Tifa, really! Kidnap Marlene? Never! Agree to help remnants of Sephiroth..?

Sephiroth? Cloud pushed himself up from the ground a little, holding his temple due to a forming headache. No. He'd defeated Sephiroth. He remembered fighting him one-on-one in the dark void. The pain in his heart as he delivered the final blow. He felt the burn of tears wanting to spill behind his eyes. No! _You can't cry!_ He scolded himself. _If you cry, they'll_…

"Sephiroth…" he muttered to himself, watching the vague reflection of himself on the water's surface. _His_ reflection. _His _deep blue eyes. He was still sane. He was still Cloud.

"Sorry, Brother. We'll have to do."

Oh, _fuck_ no!

The blonde hero spun around a little to see where that irritating, taunting voice came from. That little prick! Kadaj was standing not ten yards away from him. Loz was at his side…holding Marlene close to him! Cloud jumped to his feet, but swayed a little upon doing so. Kadaj laughed mockingly.

"I don't think you'll want to do that, Brother; you're blood pressure is too low. Any more sharp movements and you'll make yourself pass out again."

Cloud ignored the snide comments and tried to look as threatening as possible, making his way over to where Loz held onto Marlene. (Obviously, it wasn't very successful considering he still held his head in pain). "L-Let…her go. She's not part of this."

Kadaj smiled that damn mocking smile and playfully pet the little girl's hair, "Of course she is. She is one of the many children that will aid in our task." Marlene shrank away a little and cowered at the clone's touch.

Cloud's blood boiled again with every word that passed Kadaj's lips. Trying to control himself, lest Kadaj go back on his word, he slammed his fist as hard as his feeble body could manage against the Ancient's temple behind him. "Damn you! You promised you'd leave my friends alone!"

Gaia, did _nothing_ faze this little bastard? He's _fucking_ grinning! "Well, I doubt this beautiful little girl would want to 'be your friend' anymore, Brother. Don't you remember? You attacked your dear friend and kidnapped her, bringing her here in the first place." Cloud's eyes began to fill with hurt at these words. But what was worse…Gaia, Marlene was eyeing him painfully! Like she _was_ blaming him! "Is that what a friend would do?"

Marlene, as if Kadaj's last thought was directed at her, averted her gaze from Cloud and subtly shook her head. Cloud's heart broke into a million more pieces for the dozenth time in his life. He didn't want to be a…a _monster_! He just wanted to protect his friends! But they still ended up hurt! Who was next? Yuffie? Barret? Cid? Nanaki? …Vincent?

Oh. He hadn't thought about the ex-Turk in a while. Of all of his friends, he cared about Vincent the most! He didn't want to hurt anyone, but…what if he _did_ end up killing him? What if he already had? And Zack…Zack really has given up on him, then! Zack was always there to help him! Now…

He sank to the cold ground and buried his face in his hands. Zack's phantom voice from his dream back in that old lab echoed in his mind.

_I'm sorry, friend. I can't help you anymore_.

Cloud no longer heard Zack's encouraging voice in his head. He wasn't there in his mind to pull him through anymore. Why didn't he see it before?! Even Zack's gone, now. He's too far gone. He's all alone, now. If Zack still cared, he'd still be there, guiding him!

"Zack…I need you…" his quiet and now broken voice weakly called to nothing.

Kadaj must have heard him for he spoke once again—this time in a fake comforting tone, "You just have it face it, dear Brother." The sound of his boots crunching on the dirt and pebbles beneath them drew closer until Cloud felt a cool, gloved hand on his shoulder. "Your friends are no longer yours. You've hurt them yourself, not me; I am one of my word. Now, ask yourself: what do you have left to turn to? Not your friends; they've already taken you for a traitor. There's only one whom I am certain will still care about you."

Sephiroth. Cloud knew to whom the clone was referring. But he couldn't! Sephiroth took everything from him! Sephiroth was a danger to everyone! What kind of friend would he be if…

What friend? He wasn't anybody's friend anymore. Look what he's done to all of them! He set himself up for this! If only he didn't agree to that stupid deal! What else did he have?

"Now," the clone continued. "Are you going to help us?"

Cloud didn't answer; only brought his knees up to rest his forehead and arms on. Even if his friends believed he'd betrayed them…he couldn't hurt them!

This seemed to be a clear enough answer for Kadaj for Cloud felt him nod and reach for an object in his belt. "I see. Well, then let's try again…" Cloud didn't respond. He didn't even flinch as a familiar prick of pain pierced his neck.

_I'm sorry…_

A/N: Okey-dokey that concludes chapt 6! I'm terrible, huh? Oh, well. I know how y'all are lovin' all the angst and drama! MUAHAHAHAHAHA! HA! …HA! …ha. #awkward silence# Okay, okay! I get it! I'll have chapt 7 up ASAP. See ya then!

Zack: If we're still _alive _by then!

Oh, go choke on a chicken bone!

Zack: See? _See_? That's what I mean! She's slowly killing us!

#hits Zack with a pool stick#

Zack: #yipe! Yipe!#

He's such a puppy…


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Howdy y'all! Yay! I got the lucky number seven up! think of the immediate update as compensation for slow updates... n e wayz, many thanks to reviewers and newcomers!

Ooh-kay! Who should I pick on, now? #FFVII gang cowers and hides behind books.# Alright Seph! Your turn!

Sephiroth: I refuse.

#warning glare# Seph, do the disclaimer!

Sephiroth: No.

Don't make me use force!

Zack: Seph, listen to her! Take it from someone who she's 'used force' on!

Sephiroth: #cocking an eyebrow# What can she _possibly_ do to me?

#clears throat# As superhuman as you may be, you hafta sleep _sometime_!

Sephiroth: …So?

#evil grin# I can steel all your clothes when you're sleeping!

Sephiroth: I'm a light sleeper; you wouldn't get so far as unbuckling my belt.

I have a large stock of Tranquilizers.

Sephiroth: I'm pretty much immune, no matter the dose.

It only takes half a second to castrate! #Seph goes pale# And there's no gettin' _that_ back, is there?

Sephiroth: MyOrli does not own us, nor does she own any form of humility or sanity!

#grins# Yeah, that's what I thought.

"Hey, Reno, can you drop me off here?" Reno gave the wolf in the seat next to him a quizzical look.

"Uh, okay. Why?"

Zack looked away and pawed the leather seat as he answered, "I just…I need to be alone before we go runnin' into those guys. As a sorta pep-up, ya know?"

Vincent leaned forward from behind the seats at this. "Are you saying you wish to be the offensive? I thought this was a rescue, not an attack."

Zack attempted to shrug again, "Well, something tells me we're gonna need to be prepared for anything they might throw at us. And, no offence, but I think I can handle their style best."

"You think a bit of wolf power will stop all of them? _And_ Cloud?" the ex-Turk skeptically guessed with a huff of amusement. Sure, Zack was once second best to Sephiroth, but he was _human_, then.

Zack gave him the best hurt look a wolf could, "C'mon! Have a little faith in me, will ya? I may not be able to do much as a _dog_, but I still got a few tricks up my sleeve." Reno and Vincent both gave him raised eyebrows. "Okay, okay! C'mon, it's just a figure of speech!"

"Yeah, well, you know it's been my life to make yours hard!" Reno cheerfully teased. Zack's eyes narrowed a bit as Reno set the chopper down in the middle of a small clearing of trees. Zack leapt out and landed perfectly on the ground. _I'm gonna miss that kinda agility_, He thought to himself. Vincent leaned out before Reno shut the door again.

"Fair, you'll know where to find them, right?"

"Hey, man, it's me! Nothing can escape the Incredible Zack Fair!"

The ex-Turk rolled his eyes, "Then I'll be scoping out and keeping an eye on things. If things go bad, I'm stepping in."

Zack was suddenly serious, "No, not til' I'm there! I'm gonna try and handle things myself. If things _do _get bad enough…then be my guest. But…I wanna try to settle things my way first."

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

Zack bared his teeth, trying once again to grin, "Trust me."

"Yo, guys!" Reno cut in, "Make up your minds about your game plan, here; I'm runnin' outta fuel!"

"Then you guys better get goin," before Vincent could say anything, he began to walk off, "Don't worry; I got this."

00

00

Once the whirring of Reno's helicopter was gone and Zack was alone, the wolf released a sigh of weariness from his throat. This was the toughest job he'd ever had to go through with. He couldn't finish it like this.

"Hey, Aeris?" he called, pawing the largest tree in the clearing as if the Ancient was hiding up in its branches. "Hey, I hoped I wouldn't have to resort to this, but…I need some help. A _lot_ of help."

The forest and its glowing trees disappeared and Zack found himself standing in an endless white void. Ah, it felt kind of nice to be back here. A giggle sounded in the distance he knew all too well. He inwardly smiled. "Oh, Zackary, you're always getting into trouble."

Zack gave his friend one of his good-natured smile as the peaceful purgatory became fragrant with Aeris' special flowers, "Ah, you know me, love. I never really was for behaving."

"Yes." A familiar male voice chuckled. "I never really knew why I put up with him."

Zack beamed in happiness—with a real smile. And when he leapt into his old mentor's arms, he was his true, human self, SOLDIER uniform and all. The ever-gentle arms embraced the old Puppy with love he'd never forgotten, "Angeal!"

Angeal laughed softly as he ruffled his former student's spiky hair. "Gaia, Zack, you've been gone for but a short while and you're already ecstatic."

Zack suddenly pouted and pulled back slightly. He'd never get used to being so close to Angeal's height, "Yeah…in the body of a _wolf_! Ya happy, now? Even the Planet knows about your old nickname for me!"

"Oh, come now, Zackary!" Aeris cheerfully scolded, coming up behind him. "It suits you so well! From what I can remember, you never could sit still for a minute!"

"Sure I can! Time me!"

"Zack." Said 'Puppy' turned back to his teacher, the moment sobering up with his next words, "Didn't you need to see us?"

Zack's face went sullen and he sank to sit cross-legged in the endless field of flowers. He planted his elbow on a knee, resting his cheek on his fist, "Ugh, this is all gettin' outta hand! I know what's gonna happen, but…I can't fight my Spiky!" with a groan, he buried his face in his gloved hands. Aeris, with a sympathetic expression, knelt down beside her friend and held his shoulders comfortingly. "You wouldda been better for this, Aery. I'm not cut out for it!"

Aeris gave a ridiculing laugh, "And what makes you think _I_ am?"

"I-I dunno." Zack defended as he lifted his head again and looked at the Ancient with a weary expression. "You're an Ancient. Can't you--?"

"Puppy," both younger friends glanced up at Angeal who eyed Zack patiently. "This is something _you_ have to do. No one knows him as well as you do. And know one can save him…except you."

"But why _me_?"

Aeris hugged the ex-SOLDIER as tight as she could, "Zack…you've given everything up for him in the past. Why is now any different?"

Zack stared at his hands in his lap. His unique tears burned his eyes, "'Cuz I have nothing left to give up. What if I…_fail_ him this time?"

"If you don't believe you will, chances are you won't."

Zack laughed a little, despite his worry, "Angeal, you're being sentimental again." After a moment, he sobered up again, not looking at Aeris or Angeal, "But you guys are right. I _hafta_ do this. Which is why I need your help. I need to be sent back. _Completely_ back."

Angeal's face became stone cold, "Zack, we can only do that once. For all of us. If we screw up--"

"Who was the one who told me I can do this?" Angeal gave no answer. Zack wearily sighed again. "Look…I know this is a tough decision—and I made it pretty fast—but maybe…if I can get Cloud to see me, recognize me, maybe I can help him. And if not…"

"You can defend yourself if the need arises," Angeal offered. Zack glanced back up at him with hurt in his eyes.

"I'm _not_ gonna kill him! No matter _how_ badly sunk he is!"

"Zack," his mentor urged gently as he squeezed his shoulder. "I'm just saying, if the need arises, you make sure you get out of there okay. This may not be your Cloud from Nibelheim anymore. But if absolutely necessary…you _must_--"

"It's not his time," Zack muttered to himself. In an even stronger, more determined voice, he added, "And it won't be for a long time, as long as I have anything to say about it!" with that, he jumped to his feet and grabbed Angeal's arm. "Just give me this chance, Angeal. _Please_! I promise I won't fail you or Cloud!"

Angeal was silent for a moment, obviously deliberating. At last, he said, "Zack, I can't send you back down there in your most vulnerable state." Zack opened his mouth to protest, but Angeal silenced him by holding up his hand. "Not without _this_, anyway." Angeal raised his hand behind him, as if reaching for something. And then, there it was: the one and only Buster Sword, held once again by its original owner. Angeal smiled vaguely as he laid it in Zack's hands once again.

Zack's mouth hung open for a moment or two before giving his teacher a bedazzled look, "Hey! I thought--"

"Have you forgotten, Zack? We can do just about anything."

Zack smiled again and hugged his mentor, "You are simply the best, Angeal! Top notch!"

Angeal chuckled again, "You also said that when you tried to bribe me to let you head into the Honey Bee with Reno one New Years Eve."

Zack pulled back and scratched the back of his head, a blush playing on his cheeks. "Oh. You remember that, huh?"

Angeal smiled and ruffled Zack's hair again while Aeris hugged him from the side, "You just go take care of the boy. He's still so much a child, you know."

Zack smiled a little soberly this time, promising himself he wouldn't fail, "I know. He always will be."

The next thing he knew, Zack stood in the middle of the glowing forest again. The Buster Sword was held tightly in his leather-gloved hand. The ex-SOLDIER smiled a bit as he lifted it to spin around several times over his head. "Heh, I still got it, baby. I'm comin' for ya."

00

00

"_What_?! Whatdya mean 'go back to Edge'?" Reno argued in tones that made Vincent wince a little. Oh, yeah. Reno was more than a little upset. He'd just called Rude and listened to several strings of chewing out due to his sudden disappearance. Rude had even threatened to report to Tseng regarding his misconduct and all. Not that Reno gave a shit, mind you, but going back to where the grumpy Turk awaited him meant he'd have to listen to countless hours of Rude's bitching. And he wanted to help Zack, too; there was still a lot the ex-SOLDIER didn't know…

"We might need you back there," Vincent sternly replied as he climbed out of the chopper, which sat just outside the east end of the Sleeping Forest. "Zack and I need to take care of things here. We'll be alright, don't wor--"

"I wanna help, damn you! Cloud happens to--oh." The angered Turk suddenly cut himself off and backed off a little, biting his lower lip. Vincent was interested, now. He leaned back into the cockpit a little.

"Cloud what?"

Reno's eyes harden again in an expert façade, "Oh, forget it! I just don't trust you guys can take care o' those bitches alone."

Vincent let his previous curiosity go for the sake of argument…for now. He gave the redhead a small smirk, "Anything you can do, I most likely can do better. I was a top-ranking Turk myself, once. Hell, I was Tseng's commander's commander once upon a time. We'll handle it." The ex-Turk then became a little more serious. "Besides, Zack believes they may head back to Edge; they may need you there."

"Well, if you get Cloud back, plans'll change, yeah?" Reno argued, though he knew he was losing. Vincent merely shook his head.

"Cloud isn't their main goal, right now. They're still looking for something. Now, get out of here before we're discovered."

With a glare, Reno leaned over to grab the chopper door, "Overzealous bastard. Fine, but if you catch yourself wishing I was there, expect me to point and say, 'I told ya so'!"

"Just hurry up," the door was slammed shut even before Vincent could finish his command. Before he knew it, the young Turk had gone and Vincent was alone again.

_Alright, Cloud. I'm coming for you._

A/N: Okay, this chapt was a lil' shorter than my last two, but I hope y'all like. And…YAY! Angeal made in an appearance! One more soul to torture! MUAHAHAHAHA!

Angeal: ……How did I get pulled into this?

Oh, be a little more grateful! Think of it as being loved! It's an honor to be apart of my harem--I mean _club_!

Zack: Honor? Ha! Angeal, I hope you like damp cells and gruel, not to mention--

#hit's Zack with crowbar# I SAID IT'S AN HONOR AND THAT'S WHAT IT IS, DAMMIT!

Zack: Okay, okay! It's an honor! I swear! MyOrli is the best master in the--

#hits Zack again# Don't call me 'Master' or people around here will get suspicious! …'Lady MyOrli' will do just fine…


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Hi, everyone! Sorry I'm late, but my Word docs kept screwin' up. Thank you all for waiting! Luv ya, folks!

**Sorry, I didn't have time to write replies for my reviewers, but I luv and appreciate each and every one of you, even if you hadn't reviewed. **

**_Boss, I hope you're still out there! This chapter is dedicated to you for all your kind words and eternal patience! ;D_**

#whip crack# Alright bitches! Break's over and back to work! We got eager readers a-waitin'!

Zack: Hey, c'mon! Torture subjects need sleep, too ya know!

Cloud: Zack, I'm begging you! Back off, _now_!

Zack: I demand we start to get some respect around here!

Reno: #runs finger across throat# Zack, before you get hurt, _shut up_!

Zack: We're the ones doin' practically all the work an' all! When do we--

Cloud and Reno: ZACK!

Zack: WHAT?

#hits Zack over the head with two-by-four#

Cloud: #wearily slaps forehead# You're an idiot…

Zack: #falls unconscious#

Angeal: #kneels beside Zack and checks for a pulse# I told him his mouth would get him in trouble one of these days…

Sephiroth: #slaps Angeal's shoulder and pulls him away# The important thing is you warned him. Only time and common sense will truly get it through his head.

Angeal: …Will he be alright?

#smirks and taps wood on shoulder# Oh, don't worry; this happens all the time! Did I ever tell anyone about the leather-shackles-and-rack incident?

#cricket chirp#

Angeal: No thanks; keep it to yourself.

Brown eyes opened. The sight was somewhat blurry and was surrounded in bright light. Tifa groaned. The _Shera_? Since when was she here? _How_ did she get here? And what's she doing in the infirmary?

The bartender blinked rapidly a few times and her vision got a little better, but that didn't ease the pain in her head very well. How did she get this way again?

Bleak memories came rushing back. The A.I.J. The church. Cloud. Cloud!

"Marlene?" her voice automatically called. Of course, she received no answer save for the whirring of machinery around her. She groaned a little and put a hand up to her temple. "Oh, Cloud. Please tell me that didn't really happen."

"I'm afraid it did, Tifa."

The bartender jumped with a gasp, searching around the room for the somewhat familiar voice. Red XIII sat perched on the bed beside her, his fiery tail absently swishing to and fro. "Red? Wh-what are you--? What hap--? What am I doing here?"

"We found you quite badly injured in the old church in Sector 5. You may not remember, but Barret and Cid brought you back here. We're standing by on the outskirts of Kalm."

"Standing by? What--what's going on, Nanaki?"

The big cat sighed and wearily shook his head, "Perhaps you should rest some more, Tifa; a lot has happened. So much, in fact, that I myself cannot believe I've seen it."

Tifa insistently sat up more, almost climbing from the med bed, "No, Nanaki, I don't need more rest; I need answers. What's going on? What's happened? Where's Cloud?" again, Nanaki sighed and prepared himself to tell the most unbelievable story yet.

00

00

_"Hey. You doin' alright?"_

_He looked up into bluish-purple eyes. He tried to smile. "Yeah. I'm fine."_

_Zack reached over and ruffled the mass of blond spikes before pulling him into a protective embrace, "Don't beat yourself up about it, kay? It's not you're fault."_

_"I should have done more to help--"_

_"Nah-uh!" Zack pulled back, gripping his chin to make sure he paid attention. "Not. You're. Fault, got it? No more thinkin' about it, kay?"_

_The trainee stared at his boots. "I know, Zack. Don't worry; I'm already pushing it out of my mind…"_

_"Zack," the two turned to where Sephiroth approached them from the end of the field, "It's getting near curfew; Strife needs to be getting indoors." _

_Zack grinned, knowing all to well what 'indoors' meant. He slapped Cloud's back before said trainee gave a subtle salute to his superior. Sephiroth gave a tiny smile and, with a nod, dismissed him._

_As soon as Cloud was out of sight, Zack was able to drop his façade and slouch in weariness, "Seph, I dunno about this. The poor guy's been like a ghost ever since we brought him back. He's still takin' it pretty hard."_

_"It's not easy for me, either," Sephiroth agreed, approaching his comrade. "But whatever it takes to keep him safe--"_

_"Yeah, yeah, I know. But I'm just afraid something like this'll haunt him for the rest of his life."_

_Sephiroth offered another small smile, crossing his arms, "You know, Zack, Angeal once told me that without darkness, we wouldn't even know what light is."_

_Unfortunately, Zack only looked confused, now. He cocked an eyebrow and scratched his head a little, "And…what does that have to do with--"_

_"In other words, no life is without some sort of trauma. Sometimes, it's best we learn from these experiences."_

_The young First-Class shrugged a bit, "I hear ya, but why did it have to be _that_ bad? A kid like Cloud doesn't deserve that! Sheesh, all he ever did was love, you know!"_

_The general exhaled a little heavily as sadness returned to his eyes, "I know. But we can't question Fate. Something worse may come for one of us, but that is what is intended for us." _

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Zack shook his head and continued on his path, "Man, Sephiroth, if only you knew how true your words were." He wistfully sighed to himself. Damn, life sucked! Some greater power must hate them or something. Why the hell else would they go through such bad luck? From the day Zack entered SOLDIER, things just seemed to gradually go from bad to worse to complete hell! And…what did any of them do to deserve ANY of this? Oh, wait, he _did _know: they were all born! "Damn you, Hojo!" he cursed aloud. "If I ever have to fortune of running into you ever again, you better damn well pray I find some unlikely reason to _not_ make you suffer!"

He meant it. Gaia, he _hated_ that bastard! Him and Hollander both! They were practically the root of all this! Scratch that—they _were_ the root and reason!

Even after the failed experiment, they berated Genesis all his life, always telling him what a worthless failure he was! Of course Genesis would consider himself to be a monster—that's what he was raised to believe! Always trying to perfect himself, trying desperately to prove he was worth something—anything! He was mentally abused all his life! No fucking duh he'd eventually snap and go haywire!

And Angeal! His life was hardly any better! 'The perfect monster' they called him. He was nothing but a specimen to Hollander as well! The asshole didn't deserve to call himself Angeal's father! As Zack's mentor once cried out in agony, _"My father's dead!"_ all too true. What father would do that to his son?

And Sephiroth. Zack ran a hand through his hair in weariness. Sephiroth was always alone, never mind practically growing up with Genesis and Angeal. Sephiroth was always in a class by himself. No one was ever in his league. Not even his closest friends. Hojo never wasted any time reminding him of that, day after day: how he's meant to be alone, no one could ever love him, how incapable he himself is of love and friendship. He was supposed to be the real perfect monster.

"But you proved him wrong, Seph, no matter what you think," Zack found himself musing. "You were so close to Angeal and Genesis, you put up with me through thick and thin, and you _loved_ Cloud! You weren't a monster, none of you were!" Zack suddenly stopped in his tracks to scratch his head. He grimaced to himself, embarrassed. "Ah, see, Zacky? You're talkin' to yourself, now. What's next? Gil falling straight outta the sky?"

VVVVRRRROOOOOOOOOOM!

Zack barely had time to blink before his old SOLDIER instincts had him automatically jumping to the side of the path on which he walked just microseconds before a large vehicle whizzed by—right where he'd been standing. Zack immediately leaped back onto the trail. He angrily called to the crazed driver (regardless if he couldn't hear him), "Hey! Y'ever heard of 'Pedestrian's Right-of-Way'?"

Then it clicked: there were kids in the back of that truck. Lots of them. This was it—just as he'd seen.

Without another thought, he jogged to reach the truck's destination…which happened to be the pond outside of the Ancient's Temple. The first thing that caught his attention was a head of the brightest blond he'd ever seen on the other side of the water.

_Here goes nothing…_

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One branch after another…leap—leap—leap. Vincent moved through the trees quieter than the breeze and as hidden as a spider in the shadows. Being detected was the last of his worries. What was really on his mind was Cloud, and wondering if he was okay. He knew he was tough, but…if these guys really were part of Sephiroth, who knows what trouble he'd be getting into?

Vincent inwardly smiled for a second; Cloud was always getting into some sort of trouble. How many times had Vincent had to bail him out? That's right, too many. Gaia, the kid was a magnet for negative things.

Was that why Vincent seemed to have the strong urge to protect him? He didn't know. In fact, he was never really sure why he'd stuck with the gang after the final battle anyways. The friends? The company? The distraction? Nah, he was a natural loner; he didn't need anybody. He hadn't for the passed thirty years, not that time seemed to really pass for him. Why the hell would some spiky-haired moron mean so much to him?

No matter how hard he tried, Vincent just couldn't satisfactorily answer these questions that continued to pop up in his head. All he knew was he couldn't let Cloud down.

He couldn't let anything bad happen to him.

It would kill the ex-Turk if he did.

A/N: Sorry for the long wait and shortness! I know this was just a bunch of musings, but I had to set up for the next chapter. This probably would have been a lot better if only I hadn't lost the original copy to a crashed computer. I promise there will be lots of action in the next installment! Cross my heart, hope to--okay, I really don't wanna die, but you get what I mean.

**_P.S. I don't know when I can update again since it's getting to the end of the year and I may have to give up my laptop for the summer again. I will try, so please don't give up on me! _**

**_Boss, I swear I will finish this for you! Even if it takes me the rest of my life, I WILL finish it! Thank you so much for stickin' with me this long! -_^_**


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: …………………umm…………………………………………I'M SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO DAMN LONG! #dodge flying knives# URGH! After my chapts on this story being erased time and time again, I kinda lost the willpower to keep rewriting them for a while, hence the reason my other FFVII fic is a couple of chapters ahead of this one. Hopefully, my updates won't be so delayed anymore, so I have every intention of putting this story back in action. I know it's been dormant for so long and I plead forgiveness for it, but I hope this somewhat eventful chapt makes up for it! '^_^

_**Hey, Boss, if you're still reading this, I am so sorry the updates ain't comin' quick enough, but I am trying to do better. And if you're wonderin' why my other fic is being updated more than this one, it's because I've had more chapters ready longer. And I don't know why, but my Darkened Eclipse documents kept malfunctioning, so I kept havin' to rewrite them over and OVER again! #frustrated face# But hopefully I got that problem fixed, so no more setbacks! But, if it'll help, would you prefer it if I email my chapts to you when I can't update? After all, you of all my readers on this story deserve the V.I.P. benefits, yeah? PLEEZ message me! I'm becoming worried! **_

Pleez, guys, don't kill me, -k-? I refuse to let this fic die, so count on me finishing it!

Whole male FFVII gang: Kill her! Kill her! Kill her!

Shaddap! #chucks rack of knives#

"Mother has given me a very special gift: the power to fight…against a Planet that torment's humanity! She gave this gift to all of her children," dozens of curious and slightly-confused little faces stared up at the silver-haired wanna-be. Yes, he was insinuating-- "That's right. You and I are brethren." He turned with a dramatic gesture towards the temple, raising his arms high above his head in obvious objective to reach out and level with the children on the other side of the pond. "Brothers and sisters chosen when we inherited Mother's mimetic legacy through the Lifestream!"

Zack had to fight the very strong urge to roll his eyes. Geez, this guy was one melodramatic idiot!

Okay, maybe not so much the idiot part, considering no average moron could ever possibly succeed in kidnapping and manipulating his best friend… But, damn! And he thought _Genesis_ had a knack for being histrionic, what with his Loveless and Gift-Of-The-Goddess quotes and theories all the time! The poor guy wasn't that bad, if you really think about it, but this remnant was more than enough to drive someone crazy if only they weren't dying kids convinced they'd get cured by--Okay, Zack, you really muse too much!

"…Now, I shall heal you. And we will go to mother together; to join as a family and strike back at the Planet!"

But he was right about the melodramatic part…

It was when Kadaj began to lead the kids into the water that Zack wanted to jump out from his hiding place, to save them from a fate that certainly didn't involve being cured. And he would have, but…

He jumped up, ready to protect the kids, and…

Two acid-green eyes stared back at him across the holy pond. Two hard, angry eyes. Eyes that didn't belong on the face in which they stared from.

Those weren't Cloud's eyes.

Zack caught a glimpse of a smirk on the remnant's face at the corner of his eye. Arrogant bastard; he wasn't gonna use his lil' Spiky to do this dirty work! _I'll deal with you next_… the ex-SOLDIER thought bitterly. Meanwhile, light, flawless footsteps pressed into the dirt as Zack watched the blonde hero edge closer…closer to the edge of the water and…LEAP!

Zack almost tumbled backwards after the next split second had passed.

Green orbs shimmered and bore into Zack's own violet from just a few mere inches away, now—not the deep ocean blue Zack had always loved. Maybe he wasn't cut out for this after all. He just couldn't do this…

"Out of your playpen again, Zackary?" a voice that was Cloud's, but at the same time not Cloud's, spoke using the hero's lips. It was like a darker half of Cloud—if one even existed—was speaking to Zack.

Well, if there was one skill that Zack had learned to master, it was poker-facing.

"Ya don't look so surprised to see me, Spiky."

A guttural laugh rumbled out if what should have been his best friend's throat at Zack's feigned optimistic observation. The thing possessing Cloud continued to leisurely advance towards to ex-SOLDIER as he spoke, "You and your childish nicknames… Your little 'Spiky' is dead, now."

As much as those words hurt, Zack's cocky smirk stayed in place as he smoothly back-stepped passed several shimmering trees, "Oh, I don't believe that; Cloudy's still here, or I wouldn't have been called."

"Called…just like the overly-obedient dog you are."

Zack tried hard not to wince at the acid words. If the Cloud he knew would say anything remotely like that, it would all be in jest. "Oh, gee, that's a little low. You don't give me enough credit." In one swift move, Zack drew the Buster Sword from where it rested on his back and held a stance, "Even if I hadn't been, don'cha think I would've come down here anyway?"

"Albeit foolishly, but I must give you that much," the Cloud-creature huffed with a nonchalant shrug before the brilliant, all-too-familiar blade of the Masamune appeared in his hand. Zack had to suppress a gasp. "When will you learn to lie down and die, Zack? It would certainly be easier on you."

Zack's bluish-purple eyes hardened instantly. This wasn't Cloud at all, "Have you forgotten, Spiky? I'm just a little more stubborn than that!"

An instant later, blades clashed, echoes ringing all around the surrounding trees. Kadaj couldn't hide the smirk on his lips. Slowly but surely, his methods were proving useful. It was only a matter of time before Cloud brought on Jenova's Reunion itself.

The brutal fight finally paused at the tops of two glowing trees. Both opponents were panting for breath, but Cloud seemed to be doing a might better. Zack clutched a lesion on is right bicep. He couldn't remember the last time Cloud had managed to hit him without him noticing. In fact, a lot of things seemed to have changed while he was gone, "Hey, Spiky, what'dya say we settle this like adults? Like maybe over a cup of coffee or somethin'? Just like we used to do, you know?"

The acid-green eyes in place of Cloud's inimitable blue flashed. The Masamune shook a little from a too-tight grip, "How many times must I say it? The Cloud you know is no longer here. We're enemies, now. And you're in my way."

"In your way of what?"

"Didn't you know? Mother is calling."

Zack scoffed bitterly. This was unbelievable, "Oh, knock it off. I loved the guy as much as you did, but you sound like Sephiroth after a little too much info got to him."

"Still a naïve Puppy, Zack," the brunette ex-SOLDIER looked back up and gasped before leaping to a branch a few yards away. "Don't you get it?" the voice suddenly got deeper, more crazed as Cloud chased him from branch to branch, striking ferociously. Then, all traces of the blonde's voice was gone, morphing into another Zack knew too well, "_I __**am**__ Sephiroth!_"

The fight became even faster, fiercer to the point where Zack could eventually only dodge and block. Sparks began to fly, trees began to collapse, and Zack prayed with everything within him that he could find a way to save the one person left on the Planet he gave a damn about.

Finally…

"STOP!"

Everything froze. Zack found himself pushed up against the trunk of a far tree, Buster Sword poised in front of him as it held the vicious Masamune at bay. Cloud and he were pressed fairly close. Zack could just barely make out a hint of the beautiful blue he loved so much in the hard, blood-lusting eyes before him.

"Cloud…" he pleaded softly. "Please, I know a part of you is still in there somewhere. I know you don't want to kill me. Those little bastards are trying to--"

"Shut up! You know nothing."

"I know some tiny piece of you is screaming to make this stop. You can see everything around you; it's making your heart ache. I know because I can feel it too," out of an act of bravado, Zack shifted one of his hands to lay it over the left side of his chest, never taking his eyes off the eyes that didn't belong to his little Spiky. "It hurts; you don't want to do this. You never wanted to hurt anyone. Just like back then."

Angry green eyes widened just a fraction.

00

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_Flashback_

"_I'm sorry, Zack. I know you told me to…but I just couldn't."_

_The First-Class SOLDIER smiled weakly and tightened his arms around the younger, "I know, Spiky. It's okay. Some SOLDIERS just don't like hurting people—I understand. I was the same way. Nah, actually I'm still like that. Everyone gets used to making tough decisions in a life-or-death situation, though."_

_They sat in silence for a while, trying to pretend they were paying attention to the tv. After a moment, the blonde looked up at the sad-eyed Zack, "Do you think he's okay?" _

_For the first time since they returned to base, Zack let a real smile crack his face, "I'm sure they're fine. If it's one thing I know about those guys, they refuse to go down without one hell of a hell-raising fight."_

_Cloud's eyes brightened a little and turned back to the movie, "Yeah, I guess so. I guess they're almost as stubborn as you…"_

"_Heh, I wouldn't go that far; no one surpasses the mule-headedness of Zack Fair!"_

_The two teens laughed a little. Maybe things didn't have to be all bad._

00

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"Even in times when you were in danger, you still couldn't find it in you. That's what I've always admired about you, Cloud; if you were teetering on the edge of death, you'd sooner fall than hurt someone else. But if someone else needed somebody to save them, you'd be the first to spring into action."

Time seemed to freeze for a moment. Then, an eerie smile cracked the blonde's face, "One that hasn't changed about you, Zack," an angry flick of the wrist sent Zack flying back, his attacker following. "You're still soft!" just before Zack hit the ground, a blur raced by and beat him. The Masamune rang at the impact of metal on metal. Zack leapt back, landing at the trunk of another tree only to kick off in another direction.

The three clones watched the battle playing out above them. The children emerged little at a time from the water to gather around them. As deadly as the dance was, it was certainly a marvelous sight. Kadaj and Yazoo exchanged satisfied glances; it was almost time.

A few more blows clashed between the two swords. Zack couldn't believe how much he was struggling against the kid he'd actually trained himself back in the days of SOLDIER. Back then, Cloud was still a little shy, although he had great potential. He rarely hit Zack with everything he had, afraid—despite the brunette's assurances—that he'd hurt him. Now, Zack wished at least a little of that old hesitance would come back, if for nothing else than to prevent Zack from having to go full-force on him.

Another powerful clash sent the two warriors into a lock-hold, both trying to push the other back.

"Come on, Cloud," Zack pleaded quietly so only the blonde could hear. "You're stronger than this. This…isn't you."

Green eyes only narrowed. With a harsh shove, Cloud jumped back, Zack mirroring the action. "You still won't give up, will you?" Cloud looked up as a mass of little silhouettes surrounded him. A smirk stretched his lips. "If the Cloud you believe was still here, would he use this against you?"

Dozens of little green, slitted eyes glared emptily up at the horrified Zack. Several crouched in battle-like stances, but held their ground. Zack shook his head in disbelief.

"Aw…no, Spiky. You wouldn't do that. They're just kids."

A menacing giggle sounded not too far away in the shadows. A young figure appeared, dressed very much in a way Sephiroth would have, right down to the silver hair. He smiled like a hyena taunting a prey, "My, this is fun, isn't it? Once a puppet, always a puppet, I must say."

Zack's expression hardened and he readied the Buster Sword again, daring the clone to step closer, "You little--you did this to Cloud, didn't you?"

"Me?" Kadaj let lose a venomous laugh, "I did nothing he didn't agree to. Just a little bargain between us, that's all. All I have to do is ask nicely, and…here you have it!"

"I don't believe that! I know what kind of person he--" Zack suddenly stopped himself. What if he was wrong? What if he was missing something? Just like--

…_**I know what kind of man he is!**_

Zack looked back at who used to be his Cloud, at the ominous green eyes. "…Cloud? Y-you wouldn't--"

Zack's reaction was a split second from being too late when an anguished cry rang through the trees and the Masamune was back for his blood. The brunette blocked blow after blow, the force pushing him back more and more.

_Cloud wouldn't…no, there has to be a reason! The Cloud I know would open his own veins before following the dark path! He wouldn't be trying to kill his friends and he definitely wouldn't be trying to kill me!_

_Sephiroth, if you ever really cared about us, you'd let him go!_

Once again, the two swordsmen tried to overpower the other in a collision of swords. Violet eyes were hard and determined as their owner spoke, but this time to a different audience, "Sephiroth, I know what you're doing. Making Cloud apart of it is low, even for you and who you've become. I still don't blame you for everything that's happened, but I'll never forgive you if you hurt him again! If you don't let him go, you never cared about him! If he's nothing but a puppet to you, then that makes you no better than Hojo!"

Sparks flew and blades shook as green eyes glowing with an impossible level of mako glow pierced through the darkness around them. "_Die, Zack_!" A sharp fling and Zack found himself crouching against a tree, fist pressed to a splotch of blood on his abdomen. Light footfalls drew nearer and Zack dared to look up. The great blade of the Masamune was raised, ready to take his life. Then…

The figure of Cloud froze. The anger in his expression loosened a little, almost confused. A tiny, droplet fell from the dimming pools. Zack couldn't believe what he was seeing! "Z…Zack…"

There was no time for a reaction before Cloud whipped around, the deadly Masamune spinning, ringing through the air towards Kadaj. The silver-haired clone looked surprised for a split second before drawing out his own twin-blade and deflected the assault. When he reeled back, he looked angry.

"Well, it looks like time is up," He gestured to two other clones behind him. "My brothers, I leave this to you."

Zack wasn't paying attention; he was on his feet as soon as Cloud began to sway. He caught the smaller fighter in his arms before he could hit the ground. "Cloud?" he eased them both down onto the ground, but Zack's enhanced senses didn't miss the rapid approach of two other remnants charging his way. With a growl, he took up his mentor's prized sword in hand and prepared to defend his little Spiky.

BANG!

A gunshot?

All fighting parties looked up above them to see a mass of red hover and zoom here and there around them. Gunshots seemed to fire from no particular direction, but were obviously aimed at Zack's opponents. The two clones fired back, but the bullets seemed to go right through the strange red mist. Zack rushed back to the unconscious Cloud, only to be stopped by Kadaj's sword. Gritting his teeth, the ex-SOLDIER fought back with every last bit of strength left in him.

Zack Fair was pissed.

Only when he heard a deep baritone voice did he ease his assault, "Let's go." Zack ran to where he left Cloud, but was met with the red mass swirling around and consuming the blonde hero before repeating the procedure on Zack.

For quite some time following, the feeling Zack felt could be described as flying. The brunette could only see red everywhere around him, but he could feel his little Spiky in his arms, breathing quietly and steadily against his chest. The only thing dear left in this world, Zack held him tightly. He only wished this would never end.

00

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It was impossible to determine how much time had passed by the time Zack felt solid ground under his feet. When he opened his eyes, the consuming red had gone and he now stood in a small clearing in the middle of the glowing trees, not an enemy in sight. A small groan brought his attention to his sleeping friend. Carefully, he lowered himself and Cloud to the ground. He sat there quietly, running his fingers through soft blond hair until he heard the deep voice speak again.

"I don't suppose you're willing to explain _this_?"

Zack darkly grinned without looking up at the source of the voice, "What can I say? Man to man's best friend to man again. That pretty much sums it up."

"Not hardly," scuffling of golden boots approached the two before Vincent crouched down. "It's not exactly a paperclip operation when a dead man comes back as a wolf and then rejuvenates himself in body."

Zack laughed subtly again. After a moment he met Vincent's gaze, "So, how did you know it was me down there anyways? I don't think you ever knew what I look like."

"The sword." Zack glanced down at the giant blade still in his hand, realization setting in. "Cloud used that very one back in the original struggle against Sephiroth. I'd recognize it anywhere. When it was all over, he set it as a memorial to you, on the cliff overlooking Midgar. He visited that place quite often, actually."

"Heh…that's the place where we parted ways," Zack muttered lowly. "He made a promise to me that day. He promised he would live on for the both of us. He was my legacy. My _living_ legacy." A hand unconsciously smoothed down the massive blade. "I gave this to him as a reminder of that." All was quiet for awhile until Zack let out an exasperated sigh, standing up to pace around. "You know, it should have been me, chasing Sephiroth and bringing him down and all that."

"You fought him back in Nibelheim all those years ago, didn't you? That day Sephiroth burned the whole village down."

"Yep, and I got my ass handed to me. Then Cloud came along and he…" Zack sighed again and turned to lean against a tree. "Well, he finished him off. It must have been the hardest thing he ever had to do, really. That should have been me to have to do that, not him. All the years I've known him I've tried to keep him from harm and stuff. Now look where we are." A fist slammed into layers of glowing bark, "Dammit, he should have run away like I told him to! Why did he have to follow me?"

Vincent's brow furrowed for a moment in thought. After a moment, he looked back up at the ex-SOLDIER who was now turned away and muttering silent curses to himself. If Vincent didn't know better, he would have thought he was praying.

"You loved him, didn't you?"

Zack stiffened, "What drew that conclusion for ya?"

Vincent released a small huff of a laugh, then turned away to watch Cloud's unconscious form, "I'm right, then. That link you have with Cloud you talked about…that kind of bond can't be formed between just anyone, can it?" the ex-Turk could hear a faint intake of breath from Zack's direction. "Did Sephiroth know?" Vincent was a little surprised when the ex-SOLDIER weakly nodded, "And he didn't…mind?"

"It's kind of a complicated story…"

"I've got time."

Zack sighed again before turning somewhat to his audience, "Cloud and I met when I was about sixteen. He was the cutest, yet probably most potential SOLDIER trainee I ever met. I'm still not sure what drew us together, but we became close fast and about a year later, things got a little more intimate. We kept it secret of course, feigning our first meet being in Modeoheim and all. Meanwhile, Sephiroth had a little romance life of his own going on."

"It wasn't…Cloud, was it?"

Zack shook his head. "Nah, at the time, Spiky was just another star trainee in the company. There was someone else…" Zack trailed off for a moment, sliding down to sit on the ground against the tree's base. He ran his hand through his spikes as he continued. "According to the facts I was told, Seph grew up with two other people, the top SOLDIERS besides him during that time. One of them was my old friend and teacher, Angeal, who's trained me since I was a Third-Class. The other was Genesis—the Red Sun as some of the fellow subordinates called him. From what I was told, those three had been friends since they were kids. Angeal and Genesis grew up in a small village called Banora, but by the time they were about ten, they were brought up to the company. They'd always been closer than close, but by the time Seph was seventeen, he and Genesis…well, you know."

"I see."

"All was good for a while, until one day Genesis was hurt during a spar between the three of them in the training room. Nothing seemed to get really bad until Genesis kept getting worse. Professor Hollander was apparently trying to treat his condition, but that turned out to be…well, not what it seems. Then Genesis got a hold of some information he was better left ignorant about. I still don't understand all of it, but he and Angeal were a part of a similar project as the one Sephiroth was: Jenova Project G.

"You know the whole deal with Sephiroth when he found out about his origins?" Vincent gave a solemn nod. "Well, that's kinda how Genesis reacted, only in a different aggressive way. Since there was a defect in the project that created him, he began to degrade over time. He started making copies of himself to try and force Hollander to find a cure for him. But he also became vengeful to the people that created him and Angeal. He abandoned ShinRa and Angeal soon followed him. Since he didn't understand the full extent, it left Seph alone and heartbroken.

"It wasn't until Genesis had very much lost his mind when Sephiroth was told about the whole Project S and all that, but before that stuff happened… See, I grew pretty close to Seph myself, especially when I continued to move up the rank latter. Anyways, after a while, Genesis's and Angeal's desertion started to get to Sephiroth. No one else knew of course, but I did and Cloud had really good intuition where those kinds of things are concerned. So, with Cloud's permission, I offered myself as a little, well um, distraction to Sephiroth. He ruefully accepted, but with a condition that really knocked me on my ass: he knew about me and Cloud and said if he had one of us, he had to have to whole package. More ethical, you know?"

Vincent closed his eyes in thought for a second. "So that's how the relationship came into play, then?"

"Well, you could say that. But over time he became more attached to Cloud; for some reason, Spiky reminded Seph of Genesis. Don't get me wrong; Seph loved Cloud with all what was left of his heart, but I just think the whole thing with Genesis is what started that. I didn't mind though. Cloud being Cloud, he loved us both hands down. If anything, it brought the three of us—me and Cloud especially—closer together."

For a short while, Zack fell silent, gazing up at the millions of stars above them.

"The bond was created out of mockery by Hojo, wasn't it?" Vincent quietly asked after a moment.

"…And the fact that Hojo…he must have known I would have tried to escape with Cloud…and he didn't want his 'favorite specimen' to…" Zack voice lowered to a faint whisper as he turned and slammed his other fist into the large tree. "…I _hate_ that bastard. None of this would have happened if…"

"Whatever happened to this Genesis? And Angeal? Why haven't I heard anything about them if they were the top SOLDIERS before you were?"

Zack gave another sad sigh, "All records of them have been erased from the Company's and Project archives. I don't know where Genesis could be now, but Angeal's where I was before I was called back here."

"The Lifestream?"

The ex-SOLDIER stood with a weary shake of the head, "Nah. Truth be told, I thought I really had killed him that day he forced me to fight him, but when I thought I died too, Angeal came and…grabbed my hand and we flew off somewhere. I thought it was gonna be the Lifestream, too, but…you might call it some kind of 'peaceful purgatory'. We're not really dead, but we're not alive, either. It's as if the Planet was saying it wasn't our time yet, that there's something else we have to do." He glanced back at where Cloud lay. A certain softness crept back into his eyes. "For me, that must mean protecting my little Spiky."

A/N:…EEP! Talking and more talking, but it's all for a reason, trust you me! The next chapt will be up ASAP! I promise!

Cloud: Why am I unconscious half the time?

Cuz you're so cute when you sleep! …#evil laugh!#

Cloud: #edges away# Can we say, "insane"?


End file.
